"President Obama will best serve
Hillary Clinton by acting as a foil - as a contrast. By comparison with Obama, the potentially polarizing Clinton becomes a wholesome alternative for a wide variety of voters. ... Meanwhile, her party's
leftist idealists and their backers will seriously not want to stand on the sidelines when a woman could become president - and right after
an African-American achieved it.”

"WikiLeaks has posted the entire hack of the Sony Database in searchable format to offer a 'rare insight into the inner workings of a large, secretive multinational corporation. The work publicly known from Sony is to produce
entertainment; however, Sony's Archives show that behind the
scenes the firm is an influential corporation, with ties to the White House, with an ability to impact laws and policies, and with
connections to the United States military-industrial complex.”

"The European Union accused Google
of cheating consumers , competitors
by distorting search results to favor its own shopping service, after a five-year investigation that could change
the rules for doing business online.”

"America increasingly belongs to the millionaires and billionaires. A quasi-feudal system has formed in which the fate of a man and his future position in life are
determined at birth. A handoff
from the Bushes to the Clintons
would confirm that the unhealthy process is occurring not only in finance but politics as well. ... To my surprise, Americans, at
least those that support the Democrats, don't seem to mind. I have to admit to a personal bias here, as I do not understand the
reasons for Clinton's dominance.”

"In killing and maiming unarmed civilians, these defendants acted
unreasonably ...
In combination, the sheer amount
of unnecessary human loss and
suffering due to the defendants' criminal conduct
on Sept. 16, 2007, is staggering.”

"Her first presidential loss
to an initially unknown
outsider named Obama hit
her hard. It never left her
and it noticeably shapes the
the current campaign. ...
the Clinton team should
contemplate the fact that the announcement of her candidacy hasn't triggered major voter enthusiasm.”

Views from around the world have
begun to emerge about her timing, her gender, her experience, her baggage and every aspect of what makes her such a political lightning rod. As usual, the British are first out of the gate with opinion rather
than only straight news coverage,
with other English-language media coming next, and soon, no doubt,
more reaction from around the
world in every language possible.

In his remarks at the Summit of the Americas in Panama, Cuban leader Raul Castro is making an interesting distinction between President Obama, who is of course president of the United States, and U.S. foreign policy, which Castro says Obama wasn't responsible for. Here are two columns from The Telegraph and The Observer that highlight
the comments by Raul Castro.

"Mr. Paul doesn't sound like your average Republican presidential candidate, and at times his event didn't look much like a traditional Republican presidential kick-off.Very early on, he criticised both Republicans and Democrats for being creatures of a political
establishment unresponsive
to the people who elected them.”

"leftists wanted to block the convoy's passage and on social media called for the use of force. A complaint was
even filed with the attorney general's office in Brno against Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka, Foreign Minister Lubomir Zaoralek and Defence Minister Martin Stropnicky. They are being accused of 'high treason' for approving
passage for the American convoy.”

"The burden of sanctions has without
doubt brought Iran to the negotiating table, but has in no way deterred the country from boosting its capacity for uranium enrichment - which is the path to obtaining a nuclear weapon. ... In this case, the status quo will not suffice. To wait is to take the risk of allowing an Islamic Republic working day in and day out to enrich more fissile material for military purposes.”

"Another issue was the demand that without clear assurances of the total absence of a military
dimension to the Iranian nuclear program, U.N. sanctions should not be touched. In any event,
diplomats judged that without the approval of the International Atomic Energy Agency, these cannot be lifted, and that is a process that is likely to take
several years at a minimum.”

Obama: It is a good deal -- Key
parameters for nuke deal with
Iran reached -- Deal to be done by 30 June -- E.U. and U.S. will terminate economic sanctions --
Fordow to be nuclear physics site.

"President Obama's wavering and procrastination and his back and forth between threats, retreats and interventions has severely
damaged U.S. credibility. ... One
requires a remarkable set of eyes
to discern a strategy in all this
rather than a frantic, haphazard and event-driven mess. ”

"UKIP candidate Jeremy Zeid
called for President Obama to be kidnapped by the Israelis like Nazi war criminal Adolf
Eichmann for declassifying a
document in Israel's once
undeclared nuclear program.”

"If none of the mobile phones and notably
none of the SIM cards found at the scene
have not been analysed  because the fact
is that the data can be retrieved  that
suggests a problem with the investigation'”

"French authorities initially denied the existence of the clip, which allegedly relays in a 'few seconds' scenes of chaos
and passengers screaming 'My God' in several languages. But they are now calling on anyone in possession of such a film to 'hand it over to investigators.'”

"Facebook tracks the web browsing of everyone who visits a page on its site even if the user does not have an
account and even when they have explicitly opted out of
tracking in the E.U., research commissioned by the Belgian
data protection agency shows.”

"French authorities initially denied the existence of the clip, which allegedly relays in a 'few seconds' scenes of chaos
and passengers screaming 'My God' in several languages. But they are now calling on anyone in possession of such a film to 'hand it over to investigators.'”

"So this is what we have come to: more often than not it seems that sentences have already been formulated, whether based on mere conjecture and/or because they have been decided on the spot, from the first few minutes.”

"Paris Match has obtained a video taken during the final seconds of
the ill-fated Germanwings flight
4U9525 and found among the wreckage by a source close to the investigation. Its origin - a
cellphone - was clear. The scene was so chaotic that it was hard to identify people, but the sound of the screaming passengers made
it clear that they were well
aware
of what was about to happen.”

"It has also never been clear how the pair, who had claimed to be having sex, smoking cannabis and watching the French film Amelie
at the time of the murder, became accomplices of Rudy Guede, the then 21-year-old drifter who is now the only person to have been convicted of Kercher's murder.”

"Our greatest festival will stay
with us through the centuries. Hollande, Cameron and Obama - not to mention leaders of 'New Europe' - are no more than ripples in the water. Their presence will not add to thehonor of May 9th, and their absence will not diminish its joy.”

"Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito,
both jailed for the murder of British student Meredith Kercher, may claim millions in compensation after Italy's top court cleared them unreservedly. ... In the latest twist, the pair were
both acquitted by judges at Rome's
supreme court. The five judges said
that there was insufficient evidence.”

"Let me come straight to the point the Dutch way - straightforward and without lame excuses: Please retire.Forget your presidential ambitions. Enough is enough. Please don't do it.”

"We discussed his journey and he gave us a nuanced
accounting of how mass
surveillance operated and
what doesn't . ... He also gave us his point of view
on what comprise effective
anti-terrorism measures and what doesn't. ... I am impressed by his courage.”

“The Saudi decision to unveil the international coalition in Washington suggests that the Obama Administration, rather
than the Riyadh regime, may be the driving force behind
the intervention in Yemen.”

"The European Commission has warned E.U. citizens that they should close their Facebook accounts if they want to keep information private from U.S. security services, finding that
current Safe Harbour law does not protect citizen's data.”

"We're witnessing divisions so deep
that it's hard to find anything relevant passing between Israel and the United States. ... Countries like Israel, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt look with
great suspicion at a U.S. orientation in
favor of Iran and easing of sanctions in exchange for transparency on uranium enrichment or 'unofficial' coordination
in the battle against the Islamic State.”

"The European Commission has warned E.U. citizens that they should close their Facebook accounts if they want to keep information private from U.S. security services, finding that
current Safe Harbour law does not protect citizen's data.”

"The democratic experience of the Arab world remains a fragile one. ... Nevertheless,
the Arab world and Islamic
worlds are not synonymous. .
It's not hard to find examples
of democracy in Islamic states.”

This is France 24's live feed with coverage of the crash Germanwings
flight 4U9525. French prosecutors has announced that the aircraft
was intentionally crashed by ci-pilot.

"The co-pilot of the Germanwings jet that crashed in the French Alps deliberately forced the plane into the descent that led to the disaster, the prosecutor said. He pressed a button that accelerated the Airbus A320's descent when alone in the cockpit. 'It was a voluntary action.'”

"White House confirms support
for the military effort, claiming
international mandate to end the
'widespread instability and chaos'
that drove out Yemeni president.”

"The longest-held U.S. prisoner
of war of the post-9/11 era will be
charged with misbehavior before the enemy and desertion and faces a potential penalty of life in prison.
A court martial proceeding for Sgt.
Bowe Bergdahl will be a dramatic fall from grace for a soldier whose release after five years in Taliban
captivity was a priority for Obama.”

"NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden warned of how U.S.
intelligence works with E.U.
nations that filter out traffic
belonging to their citizens.
However, because of states
that collaborate with it, the
U.S. is able to obtain data on
all E.U. citizens. Llawmakers are in broad agreement that it is unacceptable for foreign
spies to illegally intercept,
store and monitor data of
Austrian, European citizens.”

"Israel hasn't won, because
little or nothing
has changed.
In fact, the
country may now
be pushed into a dangerous
self isolation as the region is boiling over with ancient
tensions and bloody recent
conflicts. ... Arabs living inthe country may now be capable of silencing all their
divisions and united as a third political party in the Knesset.
It may be a sign of the future when in the absence of two states the majority in Israel is no longer Jewish.”

"They said they would stop notifying us of plots and other intelligence matters.”

"Ricky Jackson and two brothers were convicted on the basis of the testimony of a 13-year-old boy who said that he witnessed the killing of Harold Franks.
The boy, Eddie Vernon, was on a bus a block away with other children at the time. He later recanted his account.”

"Next month the Palestinian Authority will join the International Criminal
Court, where it will seek to indict
of Israel for war crimes, both over the conduct of last summer's war in Gaza
and Jewish settlements in the occupied territories. ... Netanyahu will need
American help to fend off the pressure,
but Israeli diplomats fear that Obamamay be less willing to fight on Israel's behalf, or will seek to extract a price.”

"Producer Jill Blackstone had initially been
charged with murder of her sister Wendy, but the LA District Attorney dropped the
charges and released her Wednesday. Yet many questions remain over her partially blind and deaf sister's death. Wendy was found on Saturday in the home's garage, apparently asphyxiated by carbon monoxide
gas. ... Also found at the scene was a hand-
written suicide note police determined
had been written by Jill, and the bodies of their three dogs.”

"The White House has made clear its
dismay at Prime Minister Netanyahu's
sweeping victory in the Israeli polls
with a stinging rebuke of 'divisive rhetoric' used by the Israeli leader in the closing stages of the election. ...
Furthermore, Obama has
not called
to congratulate him on his victory.”

"In addition to the Austrian Web
provider, the document discloses
other targets, such as members of the Philippine government, the
largest Saudi ISP, a Pakistani cyber security firm as well as a resort
hotel in Honduras in which the United Fruit Company receives
South American official delegations. With this variety of examples from the spy programs under Upstream,
the NSA-author of the presentation will have wanted to demonstrate
the best possible range of targets.”

"It mustn't be forgotten that in 16th century Protestantism, there was an iconoclastic rage that went on to wreak havoc on our cultural heritage. ... This is not to suggest a hazardous equivalence between Calvinism and radical Islam, but the Islamists are
falling back on an a religious tradition
that was defeated by Christianity.”

“The alliance is unlikely to amount
to much immediate collaboration on joint operations. It may, in fact, be more of a cry for help, given the recent string of defeats Boko
Haram has sustained in recent days.”

"Britains laws governing the espionage agencies and mass
surveillance require a total
overhaul to make them more transparent, comprehensible and up to date, parliament's
Intelligence and Security
Committee said in a landmark
report that was prompted by
the Snowden revelations.”

"Secretary of State Kerry told Congress
that an Iran nuclear deal wouldn't be
legally binding, meaning the next U.S.
president may choose not to implement it - a point emphasized in an open letter by Republican senators to Iran's leaders. ... But a Security Council resolution on a nuclear deal with Iran could be legally
binding. That could undercut attempts by Republicans to unravel an agreement. ”

"It's like mopping the floor next
to a fire hose: national security is in constant danger. This is a
group who are not concerned with laws of secular Western
societies. ... This will not be resolved through dialogue while
immigration from Muslim nations
merrily goes on. Halting it is the
first necessary step. This is an
inconvenient truth we must heed.”

"How can we understand why people, who in their gardens protect their vegetable beds
from view with well-tended
hedges, aren't upset by the fact that there's an entity for
which no screening exists - an
entity that sees all and hears
all? To be able to understand and criticize this is the most
urgent task of people today. ”

"'The harm to Wikimedia and the hundreds of millions of people
who visit our Web sites is clear:
Pervasive mass surveillance has a chilling effect,' Mr Wales wrote. 'It stifles freedom of expression
and the free exchange of ideas
that Wikimedia exicts to enable.'”

"This debate cannot be allowed to run on forever. ... We need to have it, address the issues arising from it and move on, sooner rather than later.'”

"This suggests that the United States is
not trustworthy. This kind of letter is unprecedented and undiplomatic. ...
It letter suggests that U.S. lawmakers
not only don't understand international law but are not fully cognizant of the
nuances of their own Constitution in
terms of presidential powers in the
conduct of American foreign policy.”

"They have shared their cruel deeds on the Web in order to attract the world's
attention. Now the jihadists are pushing
their use of social networking further.
... Islamic State seeks to improve on its
online success: three days ago it launched
its own social network called 'Kilafahbook'!”

"The Bundestag Committee investigating the NSA spying scandal may itself have been
spied on. There are suspicions that the so-called encrypted
phone of Committee Chair Patrick Sensburg may have been hacked. ... An ominous course of events forms the backdrop of these suspicions. ... A detailed analysis will
take several weeks. So any
involvement by intelligence
services is only conjecture. ”

"The Californians snuck off from their tour group on
Saturday and began carving
in their initials with a coin. They managed a 'J' and an 'N'
around 8cm high, then took
a selfie with their handiwork.”

"The European Union needs its own army to help address
the issue that it is not 'taken
entirely seriously' as a globalforce, the president of the European commission has said. ... Jean-Claude Juncker said such a move would help the
E.U. persuade Russia that it's serious about defending its values in the face of the threat posed by Moscow. ”

"The top beneficiary of the strong Middle Eastern market remains the United States, with $8.4 billion worth of Middle Eastern exports in 2014, compared to $6 billion in 2013.”

"If artificial intelligence allows us to envisage less expensive production, will that be financially beneficial to
the entire population, or just the priests of the Internet and the major corporations? ... It's hard to see what
use civil servants, insurance agents, translators, brokers, salespersons,
teachers and (why not?) attorneys, doctors and pharmacists will be in two or three decades: all these jobs are being progressively replaced by artificial intelligence. All that will remain are modest manual or low-
paid trades of artists and craftsman.”

"Portugal benefits from being allied with the United States and not Russia. How come? ... Here in Portugal, only those
older than 50 recall not being
allowed to vote or freely express political opinions.
They're privileged storytellerssince they can tell the young what it's like to live in today's Russia. What we take forgranted here can be a death sentence elsewhere. We'renot interested in allies like that, and fortunately we
don't need them either. ”

"A belief in the demonic intentions
of his enemies explains Netanyahu's
actions - and not just about Tehran, but all enemies; from Hezbullah via
Hamas to Fatah and the Palestinian president. By only seeing them as apocalyptic forces spurred on by
religious hatred of the Jews, he excludes the possibility that his
adversaries might act rationally and be willing to compromise. That makes negotiations pointless.”

"Open conflict over a deal with Iran between Washington and Jerusalem is the greatest gift both parties cangive their enemies. What makes Obama's stubbornness even more worrisome is that his track record in the Middle East is not a good one. ... Netanyahu is rightly worried. Owing to his accuracy in predicting events in the Middle East he has a right to speak like no one else. That is precisely why the Jewish state stands alone like never before; and all because of a speech, the one
area Obama has truly excelled.”

"The first state intervention by Washington in the history of the Internet, it reflects the fact that government cannot leave theubiquitous digital revolution to regulate itself, and without a basic set of common rules that are fair and democratic. ”

How credible are charges in Western
media that Putin is behind the killing of Russia opposition leader Boris Nemtsov?
Not very, according to the panel on this
edition of CrossTalk, the flagship debate
program of Russia Today. The panelists
also look at Western media coverage of
Russia - and how wrong it is.Hosted by
American Peter Levelle, guests include NSA whistleblower Ray McGovern, a 27 year veteran of the agency who once prepared the President's Daily Brief and chaired National Intelligence Estimates;
writer Gilbert Doctorow of The Nation
magazine; and U.K. journalist Neil Clark.

"Is the theft of SIM card codes
a surprise to anyone? If even
the American and British spy agencies are so unscrupulous, others will be even more so.
Given this desire on the part of states and an equally strong
desire in the private sector
for international surveillance,it seems almost hopeless to
think that they could one day
be curbed by the force of law. ”

"Following the court's verdict, the case
will move back to the German judges. If
they grant Shepherd asylum, it would certainly set a precedent for follow-on cases from other conscientious objectors - as well as lay the ground for diplomatic friction between Berlin and Washington.”

"Germany is befuddled, as always, by the unbridled patriotism of their North American friends. Here, the military isn't a source of pride, and combat deaths
aren't widely discussed.”

"According to IS, the prophesied period of the second Caliphate has now begun.
Importantly, this also marks the start of the 'End of Days,' which is accompanied
by a massive, apocalyptic clash between
forces of the Caliphate and non-believers.”

"There are consequences to the excess zeal with which our policy decisionswere made years ago. ... Poland is the
only state in which the matter is being
investigated. ... It is a reminder for us that secret things should remain secret.
Polish authorities acted out of higher necessity, but were overzealous.”

"The most unpleasant statistic is not even its duration. The graphs
show that the portion of those disgruntled with America grew from crisis to crisis (53 percent, 66 percent, 67 percent, 78
percent). More disheartening, each time the slice of Russian
society feeling unquestioned goodwill toward the U.S. shrank.”

"
Putins visit to Budapest shows that he's shaking hands in Europe, and not only as part of the peace process in Minsk, but that he is accepted in a European capital far from being the worst.”

"The stolen encryption keys would
enable the spy agencies to monitor mobile communications without the approval or knowledge of telecom
firms and foreign governments. ...
the hack would allow spies to put an aerial up on the embassy in Berlin
and hear anyone's calls in the area.”

"Your method of simplifying history and turning your character into a legend in a binary world is disturbing. Unlike Paul Greengrass' Green Zone, American Sniper does nothing to address the issue of the lie that led to this war, preferring to celebrate its hero. You cannot therefore avoid the suspicion that this is a propaganda film. But perhaps you take that as a compliment. Good for you.”

"In comments to reporters traveling with him to Sierra Leone, Mr. Fallon compared
the threat from President Putin to the Islamic State and warned that NATO had to beready to respond to further
aggression in 'whatever form.'”

"If ceasefire holds, the
Minsk agreement offers Russia a dignified way of
accepting Ukraine as an
independent state. The Kremlin needs this small measure of diplomatic ambiguity, not petulant accusations that it is acting in bad faith.”

"Westerners never made good on the foolhardy interventions of recent decades. Whether it is the Americans in Iraq or more recently the Europeans in Libya, it's clear that military action is pointless unless accompanied by a political solution. The case of
Libya is a glaring example. For lack of a political roadmap it
ended in disaster. The result:
less than 350km from the Italy
coast, jihadists of the Islamic State now threaten to create a caliphate, letting it be known loud and clear by staging the macabre beheadings of 21Coptic Christians.”

"Russian saber-rattling is aimed at intimidating the global public. The idea is to make the world believe in the determination ofRussia, which, to achieve its political ends, will not shrink from the use of nuclear arms. ... Chancellor Merkel's declaration
in advance that she is opposed
to arming Ukraine is politicalsuicide for the European Union as a political entity. ... Whether the West will respond in kind to Putin's threat to use nuclear arms is an open question. What's certain is that if after WWII, Western politicians behaved like Mrs. Merkel and Mr. Hollande,
the world today would consist
of one big Soviet Union.”

"It was the will of the program gods that 50 Shades of Grey would be released in thousandsof movie theaters around the world just as Dominique Strauss-
Khan is performing in another theater - a courtroom - in Lille,
France. This shows that reality
always exceeds the imagination.”

"The Ukraine war buried the myth
of a Slavic community of nations, a political dream concocted by Tsarist Russia in order to consolidate its influence abroad. The Russians can't imagine Ukrainians going their own way - behaving like free people guided by their own dreams andinterests rather than the Russian conceptions of Ukraine.”

"Alan Robock, a climate scientist
at Rutgers University has asked
secretive government agencies
to be open about their interest
in radical work that explores
how to alter the world climate.”

"I'd learned of lots of things the
CIA had done that havent followed the rules and that wasnt how I wanted my tax money spent. ... I think this
research has to be open and global,
so there isn't any question of using
it for hostile purposes.”

"The logic of aggression demands that the attacker persevere as long as potential gains exceed the costs. That Russia feels harassed may well be, but it isn't as if NATO invaded Poland, the Baltic States and the former Czechoslovakia.
If Europe doesn't know what it
stands for, it will inevitably be
crushed between power blocs rather than being one itself. The 'dictator syndrome' will likely
be Europe's ultimate test.”

"America should set as a strategic priority the defense of Christians
across the world. From Pakistan
to Iraq, Nigeria to Egypt and from Algeria to Indonesia, there are
over 150 million Christians under
persecution. By favoring the cult
of democracy over the freedom
of religion, the West committed a strategic error. Like it or not, all nations of the world associate
Christians with the West. That it has not made defending them a strategic priority has only earned
it contempt from rivals, enemies.”

"In deciding to expand during the
euphoric years after Soviet collapse, the West neglected one of the
basic rules of realistic global policy
- the rule of the balance of power.”

"As the years have passed, Russia has come less to represent civilized
states than the rogue ones, and to defend rogue states and their interests before the civilized states. ... The West has forgotten how it co-existed with the Soviet Union through the use of deterrence. Now it will have to remember.”

"Trust has been eroded to the point
of almost being destroyed. You
got a war going on right in the middle of Europe. You got a breakdown of the conventional forces treaty, you got the INF (Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces) Treaty under great strain, you got tactical nuclear
weapons all over Europe. It is a
very dangerous situation.”

Despite his failure to reform the NSA after years of leaks demonstrating the damage mass surveillance has done to American society, its standing in the world, and the reputation of one
of our most successful industries, thepresident pushed for information-sharing 'like never before' between
the U.S. intelligence bureacracy and industry. The absurdity of the scene wasn't lost on Apple CEO Tim Cook.

"The separation between Russia and Europe is a tragedy. That the Americans may welcome it
is their right and their problem.
We don't want a revival of the Cold War between Europe and
Russia. ... Crimea chose
Russia ... we can't reproach them for it.”

In a story that goes a long way to
substantiate the Kremlin narrative on the night that triggered thecurrent crisis in Ukraine, the BBC aired this story yesterday which refutes claims by Maiden protest organizers that government riot police shot first, triggering a massacre that killed 75 people
and sealed the fate of PresidentViktor Yanukovych. To sum up - Yanukovych did not order riotpolice to shoot protesters, but
protesters began shooting them.

"The complaint is 100 pages long and contains the names of 247 sick sailors
and details about reactor construction, water samples taken, Navy tactics and Japanese politics. It assails company greed just as it does the negligence of those who built the Fukushima
reactors - and goes on to censure the
politics and cynicism of humankind.”

While reports on details remain
sketchy, reports sayt PresidentPutin did indeed pressure pro-
Russia rebels to sign on to the
deal. In this post is analysis from the Guardian, video from Russia Today with President Putins's comments, Euronews coverage
of a briefing by Ukraine President Poroshenko, German Chancellor Merkel and French President Hollande, and a news report on the deal from Euronews.

"In plain language ... if Merkel's crisis diplomacy fails Ukraine will receive
weapons. What all of us will then have
to pay, who knows? Not even McCain.”

Britain is not proving to be fertile ground for Republican aspirants for the White House. A week after New Jersey Governor Chris
Christie stumbled and fell over 'Measles-gate' and just over three years since Mitt Romney's epic gaffes on the Olympics and other issues, now Wisconsin Governor
Scott Walker, during a talk at U.K.
think tank Chatham House, would
not say whether he believes in
evolution, and refused to answerquestions about foreign policy which, for an aspirant to the
U.S. presidency on foreign soil - is exceedingly odd. Here are three write-thrus from the British press.

In 2011, the one-time chairman of the IMF and candidate for the French presidency was arrested
in New York on
seven counts of rape, false imprisonment and other charges. In the end his accuser was paid off and he left the United States. Now though, a man who once hobnobbed with the global elite is on trial in Paris for 'pimping.' He is one
of 14 defendants accused of holding profitable sex parties
in Lille, Paris and Washington,
where DSK was head of the IMF.

"For all the diplomatic pleasantries and the cozy Bavarian hospitality, there is a
topic this night that angers and divides
the camps. German rejection of sending
weapons to Ukraine. Defense Minister
Von der Leyen and Secretary John Kerry greet each one another only in passing.
While over the past year, despite even
the NSA affair, there were photos of a charmingly smiling Kerry and a beaming
von der Leyen, frosty silence now reigns.”

"Born out of a group of local
Pegida supporters, the group
began with a large protest
of about 1,000 people and in days it had already collected over 20,000 Facebook likes. At the center of the protests is the 'Americanization' of Germany, not only culturally and linguistically, but socially
and economically, and with slogans directed against a Merkel government judged guilty for going ahead with negotiations to sign TTIP, legislation that provides for mass privatization and great legal advantages for the Stars and Stripes multinationals settled on the old continent.”

"A deep unease has taken hold
at NBC News since Brian Williams,
its nightly news anchor, came under attack for making up a
story about his life-and-death
escape in Iraq. Caught in the
maelstrom is Deborah Turness, a Briton who left ITV to become
the president of NBC News just eighteen months ago.”

"The Ukrainian affair will move toward a shaky equilibrium with the merit of stopping the cycleof violence, or in one of those patterns Europe knows only too
well, into a wider confrontation -
war at the heart of the continent between Russia and the West with Ukrainians in the middle. ...
Really, though, it all depends on
a singl man: Vladimir Putin.”

The now legendary criminality of the world's big banks, in this case Swiss Bank HSBC, has been exposed in mind-
boggling fashion by whistleblower Herve Falciani, who is now being
referred to as ' Snowden of banking.'

Former Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board Alan Greenspan, a
smart man who was spectacularly
wrong on the greatest economic crisis in our lifetimes and in terms of the amount of private equity
wiped out perhaps in history, isnow predicting the Greece will exit the eurozone, which will likely be the death knell of the euro unless there is full U.S.-style political unification. Greenspan spoke to the BBCs North American bureau chief Mark Mardell.

"To understand the Russia policy of
THE Obama Administration when it comes to the conflict in Ukraine,
ask yourself what the policy would have been with Republican hawk John McCain in the White House. ...
If Obama is hesitating, it's
becausehe doesn't like war, and prefers to fight them at a distance (as with drones and air strikes in Iraq). He has other priorities.”

"The currently proposed mechanism is extremely dangerous. American
companies could attack our country because it has banned genetically modified organisms, or declared a moratorium on shale gas fracking, or banned BPA (Biphenyl A, a carbon-based synthetic compound used in a variety of common consumer goods).”

People on which the world's leading
powers rely to develop policies in themilitary/security sphere discuss the crisis in Ukraine, the battle against Islamic State, and a variety of other challenges dominating the world. These are the most significant videos
from the Munich Security Conference.

"As a member of the European Parliament, I am party to the transatlantic trade deal's inner workings. I'm sworn to secrecy,
but this much I can say: Trans-
Atlantic treaty is undemocratic.”

"This conflict will go on -
Russia hasn't realized its goal:
the subjugation of Ukraine. The Kremlin is the aggressor. Russian troops are on the territory of a neighbor and are shooting its soldiers. No Western country denies this - even those that would lift sanctions against Moscow
tomorrow. So why is there this reluctance to support the other side - the victim of increasing aggressionfrom over the border?”

"In Moscow and Europe,
the ideological battle to discredit the West is in full
swing. Suddenly, concern
and distress has gripped
Washington over a Russian question it thought had
disappeared from the radar.”

"Not a single British spy has been held accountable for mass surveillance, unlawful spying or snooping on private emails and phone calls. ... Until today. ... In years to come we will look
back on today as an essential win
against the surveillance state.”

"Many of the new 'restrictions'
are so broad as to be practically
meaningless, such as the 6 new
criteria under which bulk phone collection remains permissible: ranging from fighting spies,
terrorists and nuclear weapons
proliferation to 'criminals',hackers and loosely defined
threats to the military. American
spies, emboldened by declining pressure from Congress and a clutch of new terrorist threats
to worry about, they are in no rush to fundamentally alter the elaborate surveillance apparatus
the scale of which was first
revealed by Edward Snowden.”

RT looks at the policies of the U.S.
national security state with Colonel
Lawrence Wilkerson, Secretary of State Colin Powell's chief of staff; Alan Dershowitz on terrorism and why Europe is now being targeted;
the seeming admission by President Obama last weekend that yes - the
United States was deeply involved
with toppling the democratically- elected government in Ukraine; whether the political elite in Israel
and the United States will ever
accept peaceful co-existence
with Iran; whether the global economic system is 'rigged' in favor of the planet's wealthy; what the major
media refuses to acknowledge of
Greece - that the banks and states
judging the country as bankrupt as the government of Greece is.

"For a little over 18 months, the U.S. Internet giants have been in
open conflict with governmentsof the Western democracies. ...
Shaken by the Snowden Affair, certain CEOs of these companies privately explain that 'back doors'
would be a gateway to unlimited
intrusion by the the authorities and a threat to individual freedom.”

"With a political career based entirely within New Jersey, Christie must seek
to show himself as a leader of broader experience, especially if the Democrat candidate ends up being Hillary Clinton,
the former American secretary of state.”

"In Iraq Chris Kyle doesn't find deer - he finds men. The substance is the same
though. Only the reasons for his actions differ ('I do
it to protect my friends).
In any event, the thin, impalpable smile that the sniper keeps on his face in a context so dramatic -
and his 'addiction' to battle
that manifests during his time off at home suggest a relationship that is far from ambiguous about the 'eroticism of war.' And it
is this, perhaps, which so disturbs some, scandalizes many, and satisfies the rest.”

"The main sticking point is special
rights provided to investors, who
would be able to challenge nations
in special dispute
settlement panels
that would bypass national courts. ”

"What's required is a common
consensus on the community's most important value, which is at the heart of [Germany's] Basic Law: human dignity.
Anyone who has the desire to understand why that is the
very highest legal value of our Constitution, what this term
truly means and the obligationsthat come with it, must study the past. That includes not only
studying the Auschwitz death camp, but enlightening others
about it as well. Neither can be overlooked in courses on
integrating our new citizens.”

"A storm is brewing in Yemen. Shiite militias, Sunni tribes, al-Qaeda, Iran and Saudi Arabia are all in the mix in the MiddleEast's poorest country. ... The geopolitically- and religiously-charged nature of this local conflict only makes finding a solution more complicated. ... As the recent attack on Charlie Hebdo made clear, the West
should not ignore what seems
like a distant crisis in Yemen.”

"The assassination by ISIL
commanders of a Saudi general sent to the northern border to assess the loyalty of units judged unreliable reveals the scale of
the problem. The attack across
the border against General
Oudah al-Belawi was very well planned and based on specific
data from within the military.”

"They had no plan for what would happen after the
invasion. ... The approach
was, The Americans are heading this up. They willhave a detailed plan. We need to follow them. ... The civil war and violent chaos that followed the war
created the conditions for
the Islamic State to grow."

"There are clear shared
interests between the fanatical Islamists and
xenophobic, extremist
European forces. Eachwill tend to radicalize the other in a scenario
of 'civil war' that aligns
with the
objectives of
this organiztion of global
intolerance and barbarity.”

Can confidence in the cloud be restored?
This panel,
which addresses the collapse
in trust after the largest tech
companies allowed users to be secretly spied upon have damaged not only their reputations, but confidence in the cloud, which is what
the future of the high tech
revilution now depends upon.
This panel includes Internet founder Tim Berners-Lee,BBC World News presenter Nik Gowing, CEO of LibertyGlobal Michael T. Fries, CEO of salesforce.com Marc R.Benioff, German lawmaker
Gunther H. Oettinger and Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer.

“Escalating inequality is the work of a global elite that will resist every
challenge to its
closely vested interests.”

This is in essence a new version of
An Inconvenient Truth. Mr. Gore presents the latest research into climate change and the danger of not responding to it, including tocritical infrastructure. This time Gore comes armed not just with slides but some very interesting video to back up the evidence.

"All indications are that the attack on
satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo will
provide a pretext for introducing further limits on our civil liberties - a new order the victims of which are
unlikely to be terrorists. These tools have evidently failed. ... We have aright to a thorough justification for measures that will limit our rights
and freedoms. In our democratic debate, we must demand evidence of their effectiveness."

"Some measures under consideration
are so sweeping they would allow the
monitoring of private communications of every citizen. They should instead
focus on targeting those reasonably suspected of intending to carry out
attacks or spurring others to do so."

" If we can get through the next year, we will not break, we will not give in, we will not beg for a 'fun' pain-free
death. We will be masters of the
circumstances, including even Europe. However, if we break we'll be thrown onto the dustbin of failed civilizations. We'll be left to rot, with smoke coming
off the pile and rats crawling all over us."

Why do we keep hammering away at
the issue of mass surveillance? ... A document released from the Snowden
documents today shows the routine
interception of e-mails and data from leading journalists and investigative reporters and their storage in an
archive easy to access by GHCQ agents.

"No one is forced to read Charlie Hebdo,
no one is forced to look at its cartoons. Because we and every damned Salafist in Switzerland have the right to look
away. That we have as a senior state
representative who is a member of
the appeasement block, for which free
expression is labeled with a 'but,' is itself
enough to make one want to vomit."

You might recall a few days ago we posted a commentator on Fox News claiming that there are areas of France and Britain. ... Now French TV has broadcast a mashup of Fox
News figures repeating again and again similar erroneous
claims, and spoke to people living in these non-Muslim 'no go' areas, and asked its viewers to bury Fox News in e-mail complaints.

"The message is that rising
inequality is dangerous. It
is bad for growth and it is bad for governance. We see a concentration of wealth capturing power and leaving average people voiceless and their interests
uncared for [by leadership]."

What is blasphemy in Islam and how does that compare to other religions? Owen Bennett Jones is joined by the Bishop of Bradford,
Paul Marshall of the Hudson Institute, Professor Yvonne
Sherwood of Kent University,
Australia columnist Waleed Aly and journalists Audrey Carville in Dublin, and Omar Waraich and Nick
Cohen to debate
the
meaning of blasphemy today.

Beyond collecting every shred of data from every user on the Internet in order 'to keep us safe' - what else is the NSA up to? For Germany's Der Spiegel,
a team that includes the maker
of the documentary on Edward Snowden 'Citizien Four' Laura
Poitras and a leading critic of NSA activity Jacob Appelbaum put together this report on how the NSA is buinding the
sytems and capability for
unprecedented cyber warfare.

Talk about shameless, Secretary of State John Kerry's visit to
France today takes the cake.
An effort to place a raw steak
on the black eye of U.S. foreign
policy after the White House decided not to send a senior official to the demonstration of unity in Paris that drew leaders from around the world and almost two million people to the streets of the city, Kerry pulled out all the stops make up
for America's absence - and
some he should not have pulled
out. Much of the time he speaks
flawless French - which the locals do like quite a bit.

"The E.U. needs to start preparing for the next such event, because it will certainly come. Europe needs to find
new impetus in the fight against terror.
Ten years have passed since the horrid attack on the London underground,
and our vigilance has diminished."

"Google has tried to present this announcement as just another step in the evolution of an amazing innovation. But
make no mistake - Google
Glass is dead, at least in its
present form. ... Google will
now have to deal with a disgruntled community of Explorers who paid a large sum for a device which they must have believed would eventually evolve into something more useful."

"'If my friend Dr. Gasparri says a curse word against my mother,
he can expect a punch. It's normal. Its normal. You cannot provoke. You cannot insult the faith of others. You cannot make fun of
the faith of others.' ... 'I don't know if [human activity] is the only cause, but mostly, in great part, it is man who has slapped nature in the face.'"

"The failure that has put all the world in danger is at
the level of politics - not
security. It was politicalleaders who got rid of Saddam Hussein in Iraq, Muammar Gaddafi in Libya and have tried to displace Bashar al-Assad in Syria without thinking through
the likely consequences."

"The list contains the identities
of agents working at Germen embassies across the globe, in addition to those accompanyingarmy missions in Afghanistan,Mali, Lebanon and Sudan. ... It
remains unclear if Markus R. has
sold this particular document to
any intelligence or spy agency."

“It may be that in states where
entire neighborhoods and soon entire towns are Muslim, it is already too late. In those places, politicians and activists may be unable to prevent a genuine
conflict between civilizations."

"The 18 century was not just about
the idealized Enlightenment, but a revolution of underground, sensual and satirical ideas - which is still
with us today. It would be better
if there were no fanatics and no
martyrs for freedom. But as there
are, it is important to remember that love is stronger than hate."

One of America's most error-prone and Pavlovian 'terrorism experts,' StevenEmerson, a regular guest on FOX News, put his foot more deeply into his mouth than usual, referring to Birmingham, Britain's second-largest city, as a 'Muslim-only city' where non-Muslims 'don't go'. There has been a veritable eruption of
derision in Britain to his comments, and a twitter hashtag dedicated to skewering him and the network that employs him.

"It is time to consider that there is nothing
innocent about all the references to a 'religion of violence.' The most bloodthirsty regimes of the 20th century were 'secular and republican.'"

The European Parliament is about to vote on a measure
written by Monsanto, DuPont,
and their bought and paid for
legislators) to look like a wayof further restricting the use of GM crops, but in fact will result in their wider use throughout the E.U. Even if the motives of the people behind the measure couldn't be more obvious, passage of the measure seems assured. Then some good news: Due to massive public pressure, U.K. lawmakers have been
forced to launch an probe into whether and how the secretly-negotiated TTIP will 'weaken rules to protect food and the environment.'

"The feeling of unforeseeable, pervasive and sudden violence arouses a desire for security that will be impossible to fulfill. Experience teaches us that terrorist attacks encourage the renunciation of democratic values and amid concerns for our own security the sacrifice of the liberties of others athome or abroad. The spiral of
suspicion created in the U.S. by the Patriot Act and the
legitimization of torture or illegal detention has today plunged that country into the loss of its moral compass."

“Immigrants of the Muslim faith need to know that they have to accept our achievements if they wish to stay here. These include equality and equal treatment of men and women as well as the separation of church and state. As a Christian, one might find cartoons of the pope or Jesus
repellent, but censorship
is the beginning of the end of freedom."

"Heads of state from every major European power, including British Prime Minister David Cameron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, joined French President Francois
Hollande. But the U.S.A. was MIA."

“If Islam is this, then we
want the opportunity to criticize it as we like, as we've learned to criticize Christianity, Buddhism
and many other
things. We want the opportunity not risk our lives for that."

However much their murderers may
identify themselves as the victims of
mockery, they have also identified themselves as on the side of power, electing to act as agents avenging
the injured feelings of the most Powerful Being in the Universe."

“This is precisely the demand that must be imposed on Islam if it really wants to be part of Europe. Things needn't go as far as laughing at caricatures of Mohammed, but it will certainly have to go almost
that far. What exactly would imposing the Enlightenment mean for Islam? In addition torealizing religious tolerance (this will never exist in Islam as long as apostasy is thought
worthy of punishment), full equality for women, a clear precedence of secular over religious law, and above all: goodbye to Islam as a notion
as a basis the world order."

We are all watching events in Paris with a combination of
heartbreak, concern for the
future and outrage. Sadly, there are those among our own leaders who are more than willing to use the fear
these attacks have conjured to persuade us to give up even more of our precious and diminishing civil liberties, they claim - 'to keep us safe.'

"If the armed attack on
Charlie Hebdo leads to increased self-censorship on the part of satirists and critics of Islam, then terror will have won. But it will also have won if every faithful Muslim
now falls under suspicion."

We appear close to the end game on the Charlie Hebdo drama, as French police and security forces have surrounding a printing shop in a small town north of Paris.

“Since yesterday, euphemisms are no longer appropriate: This is war,a real war that has been declared
on us: the war of Muslim fanaticism against the West, Europe and the
values of democracy. Ultimately, it
isn't this nation or that being targeted, but a way of life, values, civilization - ours - in which women
are equal, rights of conscience are
a non-negotiable, and
freedom of expression an absolute imperative.
"

There can be no
doubt that Charlie Hebdo was testing the boundaries of taste and religious tolerance. But that is the burden free
speech has to bear in a democracy. TheU.S. bore it recently with its satire on North Korea's leader;
and it was the risk
Charlie Hebdo took -
knew it was taking.

This is the Guardian's LIVE BLOG of Tweets, text, photos and video and France 24's LIVE VIDEO FEED of this morning's attack on the offices of French satirical magazine
Charlie Hebdo, in which at least
12 people are dead, 10 seriously
injured; the attackers on the run.

"U.S. and NATO continue
to antagonize Moscow and Obama has approved new sanctions. ... In August
1941, the Americans cut oil sales to Japan, which is how Tokyo obtained about 75 percent of its supply. Then they then froze its financial assets. Pearl Harbor camejust four months later."

"Pakistan hosts the headquarters of the insurrection - and although it officially denies it, with the goal
of promoting its anti-India interests in Afghanistan. And China, Pakistan's nuclear godfather, has influence that Mr. Ghani would like to see
used to bring Islamabad to a better disposition toward Kabul. There is some coherence in this triangle and it is natural for Mr. Ghani to try and play it. The new Afghan president holds a trump card: the departure of the bulk of the NATO troops reinforces his room to maneuver.

"Confronted with the past, we tend to rationalize everything that happened as if it perforce had to have. The great religions - with a
provident and all-providing
God, and the great historical determinism of, for example, Marxism, pushed people onto
these paths ... codified in seductive prose with the
subtle threat that thoes who
ignore history are doomed to repeat it. ... From this tendency to rationalize also comes the temptation to seek the roots of the present in the past, not admitting to the possibility of alternatives and
neglecting the potential
future of paths marginalized
by the march of history."

Rumors of perverse sexual practices among the world's elite forever circulate but are rarely documented. Just when the British Royal family and former President Bill Clinton appeared
to have restored their public images
so well, an unseemly scandal
involving
Jeffrey Epstein, an American jet setter and sex offender, has reemerged and threatens to ensnare Prince Andrew, perhaps President Clinton and other
high profile figures in the U.S. and U.K.

"The wish of Americans to respond
to those trained precisely to deny fundamental rights to anyone who falls into their hands and, moreover, who have no purpose other than to kill Americans and terrorize their country, is downright heroic."

"Love for one's Motherland is one of the most powerful and enlightening feelings. It has found its reflection in our fraternal aid to the residents of Crimea and Sevastopol, after they made the firm decision to return to their native home. This event will remain a landmark in national history."

"Although many people find the topic of cybercrime exciting and
consider it of little relevance, imagine instead that Sony was anairline. Instead of using bombs to bring down planes the same can be achieved by breaking into an aircraft's computer system. ... We need to change our thinking.

"Sony may have been a practice run for attacks on telecoms and
electrical grids in other nations. ... As long as water runs from the tap and electricity is available from the wall, very few will understand the risks and dangers
a digital attack on infrastructure by a hostile power represents.

Der Spiegel posted fascinating
documents from Snowden
classified 'Highest Classification Top Secret' on drugs and the Taliban war, the CIA kill list and the Drone program, and an 'unprecedented' operation
conducted by Afghan, German forces targeting a 'narcotics trafficker, IED facilitator and
a leading Taliban commander'

"A gang of internet hackers claimingan affiliation with shadowy anarchist group Anonymous is claiming it has
leaked the details of over 13,000 users of Playstation, Xbox and online
shopping sites that include Amazon.

"After 13 years of war, NATO ended its combat operations in Afghanistanon Sunday, leaving the Afghan army and police in charge of security in a
nation plagued by continued fighting, a ferocious insurgency and a rising
tide of military and civilian casualties."

"New sections of the doctrine outline the threat Russia sees in
NATO's expansion and military buildup and the fact that the
alliance is taking upon itself
'global functions realized in
violation of international law.

“No doubt: as they go, these people take an entire culture with them, and by around 2030 our understanding of rocks essence will be synonymous with recorded music, old footage, and the overwhelming sense of art
that no generation could top.”

"Certain parts of the
documents
that really vindicate some of the things Snowden said when he first described the NSA surveillance in terms of the ability of analysts to
conduct queries of raw internet traffic - without authorization.

"The uproar over America's use of the torture is an echo of revelations just a year ago
of the Snowden case. In both
cases, the world discovered the extent of the ravages caused by the 'global war against terrorism' declared by George W. Bush after the September 11 attacks."

"Appeasement has never worked and it won't work with Putin. ... If 85 percent of Russians support the annexation of Crimea and the aggression against Ukraine, that is a very bad sign. The post-Soviet legacy is a heavy burden: Most Russians want to have the empire back. The only way it is possible to make that happen is to seize
[additional] foreign territories.

"The basic canon of Kremlin propagandists is to give voice only to their own people, meaning Russias rulers and their entourage as well as select foreigners suffering
under the yoke of the E.U.
The Kremlin propagandists - and their daily toil gives us an abundance of examples - take their public for complete
idiots who don't even recall what they heard a moment
before, let alone any longer.

2014 is coming to an end and its a time may people tally, measure and describe what happened in the last 12 months.

"It has been 25 years since the Ayatollah Khomeini issued a religious 'fatwa' enjoining Muslims around the world to kill august British writer Salman Rushdie.
The reason?His novel, The Satanic Verses, was insulting to Islam. The case of The
Interview involves a similar threat. As suggested by our British colleagues at The Financial Times, Sony must in turn respond by utilizing the Web and making the The Interview accessible to anyone
who wishes to see it and putting it online."

"North Korea has proposed holding a joint inquiry with the US into the hacking of Sony Pictures, claiming it can prove it did not carry
out the massive cyber-attack.

"We can liaise with
an authoritarian Russia, but not at the expense of the independence and territorial integrity
of the states of Europe. Tightening the screws on Putin is less risky to us than consenting to a
watering down of our principles. Moscow has
already shown us how painful it is when she takes advantage of our weaknesses."

"Having watched the trailer for The Interview, I'm going to say it's not a film I would normally rush to see. ... But after Sony's decision to can it (for now), I am now determined to watch -
and buy tickets for my friends,
too. But like any good drama,
it has developed over three acts growing progressively more sinister as it goes along. There is a potential Act Four - more of which later. So readers, here's my synopsis so far.

"The Holy Father wants to express
his warm congratulations for the historic decision taken by the Governments of the United States of America and Cuba to establish diplomatic relations, with the aim of overcoming, in the interest of the citizens of both countries, the difficulties which have marked their recent history.

"Months of talks in Canada
and the Vatican involving one of Obama's closest aides, culminated when Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro spoke by phone for nearly an hour and gave final assent to steps that could end a half-century
of enmity and suspicion.

""The justifiable invasion of
Afghanistan was followed by an invasion of Iraq under
false pretenses; a massive program of secret prisons was set up; Guantanamo
became a symbol of U.S. injustice, and finally there was the damaging NSA affair. ... Time after time
it became clear that the United States broke the law.
... and global terrorism went into high gear."

"I consider a lesser evil ethically SUPERIOR to a greater one; and that I have a natural right to defend myself and my loved ones, as well as my countrymen, from death BY ALL MEANS. If a war prisoner has information that can
save lives - especially many lives -I, Stanislaw Remuszko, will not
hesitate to use 'unconventional
methods' to get that information.

"In the film A Most Wanted Man, recently-deceased Phillip Seymour Hoffman plays a German agent who, although he doesn't trust the Americans, is obliged to cooperate
with them. ... Were our decision-
makers supposed to assume that the American secret services were there to commit torture?

"Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim
Jafari says his China counterpart,Wang Yi, has made an offer to
help Iraq fight ISIL militants."

Coverage of the arrival of six
Guantanamo inmates in Uruguay.
Then Cori Crider, attorney for a man who spent 12 years in
Guantanamo without ever being charged with a crime, tries to
convey the insanity of the system she has had to work in - and how little Americans are permitted to know about it.
Angelina Jolie weighs in on America's responsibility on the issue of torture. Abu Zubaydah's defense lawyer writes that after being subjected to every form of torture 'legalized' by the U.S. government without ever being charged with a crime, it is time to charge him or let him go. Then coverage of a hearing cancellation you probably haven't heard about: on how the FBI infiltrated the legal defense teams of Guantanamo inmates. Finally, the Pope wants the United States to 'find a humanitarian solution' to deal with the remaining
Guantanamo inmates.

I condemn the vile
semantics of the CIA and Pentagon. Not just that old, wolfish, obscene phrase 'collateral damage', but the language of torture. ... Or, as the
lads who torture for
us call it, 'enhanced interrogation techniques.'

"On the screen, a clock counts down. Whether in French Algeria or Bush's America, the purpose of this fiction is always the same: to establish not only
that torture is 'acceptable,' but that it is morally 'required.' ... Anti-terrorism and information professionals, FBI and CIA interrogators and even the scriptwriters of the TV show 24 recognized in the 2000s that
it's something that never occurs.'

"The Russian Foreign Ministry's commissioner for human rights, Konstantin Dolgov, called for the publication of the entire 6,700 page report and for all the perpetrators to be brought to justice. Well said! Should Washington hesitate, Moscow could lead the way as a shining example in this area.

"The effect of the ambulance-chasing lawyers and the play-it-safe judges is that we have got to the point where we have lost our operational
capacity for tactical questioning. That in itself brings risks to the lives of the people we deploy."

"The head of the powerful Commons intelligence and
security committee demands that the U.S. hand over its
archive documenting Britain's role in the CIAs abduction and torture program."

"While the CIA report's
damning conclusions have impelled quite a coterie of potentially implicated individuals to cry foul, including
ex-Vice President Dick
Cheney and other ex-
CIA chiefs, it is Tenet who stands most visibly in the dock.

"U.N. Special Rapporteur on Torture Juan Mendez lauds the U.S. Senatereport, and wants Russia, China and Iran to release their own."

"A state report exposing torture asuseless and counterproductive is an
odd aberration, as it puts certain
circles in that state in a bad light, making it clear that such practices are not what they pretend them to be. Yet it also shows that in our societies the capacity remains to practice self-criticism and depart
from the wrong path. That's in stark
contrast to totalitarian regimes that
get ever-more bogged down in their own insanity, only to sink in their own ashes or drag the world down with them. ... Therefore, such a report is to be welcomed, because the alternative is far worse - and to hell with George W. Bush and Dick Cheney.

"If Edward Snowden were to be allowed to enter Germany, the clamour for him to be able to stay would be strong and
resistance from government
authorities would most likely be met with civil unrest."

"It was a matter of 'higher necessity' We
didn't do it on a whim. We didn't intend to
accommodate sadists! ... This is a genuine catastrophe for the United States, the CIA
and George W. Bush. We agreed to closer
cooperation believing that America, which
is a democratic country, would honor the law. We had no basis to believe that the
U.S. authorities would accept, support
and then cover up its illegal activities.

"America cannot present itself as a pioneer of freedom as long as its most important globally-active organization is constantly
committing atrocities. President Obama will never have a better
excuse to close Guantanamo. This was one of his first campaign promises, and six years later is has yet to be fulfilled.

"American political life functions on two separate planes. We see the surface world of gridlock and hyper-
partisanship and noisy cable TV. But less often glimpsed is a national
security state whose influence goes on administration after administration,
Republican or Democrat, that seems to evade the constraints of political scrutiny. ... That is the context for the release of the long-awaited andexcruciatingly detailed Senate report on CIA torture of detainees after 9/11.

"Said to be more disturbing than
the infamous Abu Ghraib photos that sparked a global furor in 2004, the imagery is the subject of a lawsuit that both the Bush and Obama Administrations, backed by the U.S. Congress, have strenuously resisted."

"It is now time to take action. Individuals
responsible for the criminal conspiracy
revealed in the report must be brought
to justice, and must face criminal penalties
commensurate with the gravity of their
crimes. International law prohibits granting immunities to public officials who have engaged in acts of torture. This applies not
only to the actual perpetrators but also to
officials within the U.S. government who
devised, planned, authorized such crimes.

"Poland, Romania agreed
to equip the installations on these sites with the most advanced forms of security and secrecy, and they gave absolute guarantees of non-interference. ... NATO is, the platform through which the United States obtained the necessary permission
and protection needed forthe CIA's secret actions."

 Dick Marty, Author of Council of Europe Report on CIA Activities in Europe

"The CIA's activities would not have been possible without the help of Britain and 20 other European nations. ... Under President Bush the CIA used a web of European airports and bases for its extraordinary rendition flights, secretly transferring terror suspects
over borders for interrogation.

"In the 70s, the CIA reacted
to criticism by pulling down the shutters and building up the secret state further. Today, Americans face the
task of stopping a repeat. The moral and practical authority of the democratic system around the world depends in no small part on them succeeding."

"The loss of status among the middle class, the decline
in well-paid jobs for people without a degree and the ease of employing illegal immigrants sets Whites and Blacks against one another.

Now, after months of debate, inter-agency wrangling and CIA spying on
the Senate, the 6,000 page version of the CIA torture report has been released. This is global coverage of
reaction and analysis of the report.

Hersh asserts: The Bush Administration
'Surge', which included funding jihadis, was a major contributing factor in the formation of the Islamic State -- That the Syrian Army will be the force that defeats IS -- U.S. is obviously working in coordination with the Iranian and
Syrian Air Forces -- Moderate Syrian rebels that U.S. wants to support have already cut deals with Bashar al-Assad.

It's time again for the adventures
of Duke William and Duchess Kate in New York. In 24 hours, they managed to take in a basketball game and meet Jay Z, Beyonce, LeBron James, Hillary and Chelsea
Clinton, President Obama; William gave a speech at the World Bank,Kate visited a Children's center in Harlem and according to videos below, managed to change her clothes about a jillion times.

"As Germany rejects
military provocations toward Russia, it is not unlikely that at the last moment, it will suspend its
participation.”

For those inerested in the topic
- and we know you're out there,
this is coverage from Britain on the visit of the The Duke and five-months pregnant Duchess of Cambridge to New York, this is British coverage of the event, with text from the Guardian and
video coverge from the BBC
on the three-day royal visit.

"I don't recall ever having gotten
a letter from so many people at
once, and you likely can't either.
Step by step, talks between the
E.U. and U.S. on the
Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership
are mearing an end. Sadly, we do not know the details because the
talks are being held in extreme secrecy. ... The Americans have already lost their battle against biotech corporations. Now they are warning us about the effects of adopting American rules
under the guise of TTIP treaty.”

"Demonstrations touched off
in cities including New York, Washington DC, Chicago, Boston, Cleveland, Oakland Miami and
Phoenix. ... In New York City,
demonstrators staged 'die-ins'
at Macy's and Grand Central."

Amid the onrush of events and
the blizzard of misinformation and infotainment, it is easy to
forget that we continue to be relentlessly spied upon morning
noon and night, so here's the
latest Worldmeets.US spy post.

"Without denying the vigor of the Russian reaction in Ukraine, we
must put things into context, as
this crisis stems from elements of a
different nature: the profound corruption of the Ukrainian elite, pro- and anti-Russian combined; the over twenty-year uninterrupted expansion of NATO toward Russia when a helping hand is what was needed; the atavistic suspicion of the Baltic states and the Poles vis-ΰ-vis Moscow, the American
propensity to play on E.U. divisions."

"I admire his cool head. Because there is a Cold War being waged against him
by the E.U. at the behest of America,
[Russia] is defending its own interests."

"Short of the price, which is no
small matter, the key problem
with Glass is the reaction of people around the wearer. It feels socially inappropriate much
of the time  if not for you, then
for your audience. The biggest disadvantage was that my family and friends refused to be seen with me while wearing them.
They aren't technology-obsessed in the same way I am, but there
was no way to convince them. It was either them or Glass."

"I remember the 1990 Paris Summit. Europe was an example of how to
build a new world order and a new relationship. The Americans - and Bush senior, talked about it. And I spoke about it. My good friend Pope John Paul II said at the time that we needed a more equitable world order that was more humane and safer. ... And one wonders how people could object to their own decisions. It all began with the fact that the U.S. suddenly started talking about the creation of a 'new empire.' An over empire, a super empire. Alas, God and fate had put the task before them. Yes,
they thought their time had come."

If the aim is to shake out the weakest shale producers in the U.S., Saudi Arabia and the core OPEC states are
taking a huge political
gamble by letting oil
prices crash to $66.

"To use Jews as an example for Muslims may upset some people, but I do it because it is instructive. In the sacred books of the Jews, gross, uncivilized passages are also to be found. Jews who fail to observe the Sabbath, for example (and perhaps work
on that day) must, according to the Torah, be stoned. ...
But not a one Jew anywhere
in the world would seek to apply this Toranic precept. Even the most religious Jews realize that that such a thing would be utter nonsense."

"This year's birds from a farm in Virginia, both plump and white, were transported under police escort to the W, where for two days they were treated with kid gloves. And that's no figure of speech. The turkeys are housed in a suite with views of the White House, are force-fed
organic soy and cranberries as they gobble in the rooftop panoramic bar waiting to
be presented to President Barack Obama."

"This verdict may well have beenrendered by a jury made up of Blacks and Whites who, according to all the experts, did their job, but African-American communities don't believe in their country's justice system. Ferguson is very far-removed from the post-racial
America dreamed of by Obama. In Missouri suburbs like this, the population is 70 percent Black,
but the police, like the mayor, are
hegemonically White, tarnishing the image of an entire nation."

"I am deeply concerned at the disproportionate number of young African Americans who die in encounters with police officers, as well as the disproportionate number
of African-Americans in U.S. prisons and the disproportionate number of African Americans on Death Row."

"Today, the range of apocalyptic
fiction is expanding to include anew sub-genre of science fiction that is all the rage: Cli-Fi, also known as 'climatic fiction.' Americans, however, are among the most ardent climate-change
skeptics on the planet. However,
this doubt is losing momentum."

"The authorities are using their
nearly cpmplete media control to
build a parallel universe in which Russia is under attack by the West. ... The goal is to disseminate the supposedly-suppressed 'Russian point of view.' This has nothing to do with journalism, i.e.: a
genuine attempt to seek truth."

“We have worked long and hard not just
over these past days but for months. This takes time. The stakes are high and the issues are complicated and technical. Each
decision affects other decisions, and each decision deeply affects national security and international interests."

Here are two live blogs from Britain,
which include tweets, photos, videos,
many from the scene, on the decision, to be announced within the next few hours, over whether to charge police officer Darren Wilson over the death
of teenager Michael Brown. Missouri Governor came close to saying the
authorities are expecting the worst.

“Snapshots of pages torn from Miller's
notebook were shown by state media,
after his trial, revealing statements he now describes as strategic lies to
help him remain in North Korea. In it, entries appeared to show support forremoving 'the American military from South Korea' and included claims that Miller was a 'hacker' with some involvement with Wikileaks."

"Pope Francis wanted to stop in
Kurdistan, an area bordered by
Syria, Turkey, Iraq and Iran. He intended to issue an appeal from there on behalf of Middle East Christians being massacred by
Islamic jihadis. The secret service stopped him. ... He's not a very'manageable' pope. ... It seems that even his entourage jokes with him about death threats. 'Holy Father, haven't they killed you yet today?' they ask him, overcoming their reverence to express really acute fears."

"Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov has made a series of comments relating to Western plans for regime change in Russia, and in relation to the battle against ISIL - against Syria. ... Then,
the Russian media is giving blanket coverage to the rejection by the U.S.,
Canada and Ukraine of a Russia-tabled
U.N. resolution 'condemning attempts
to glorify Nazism and deny Nazi crimes."

"The Federal Reserve board is conducting a major review of how the regulator and its reserve banks supervise large financial institutions, amid mounting criticism that it is to close to and too lenient with
the Wall St. groups it oversees."

"NATO and America have military bases scattered all over the globe, including in areas close to our borders, and their number is growing ... Moreover, just
recently it was decided to send special
forces, again in close proximity to our borders. You have mentioned various
[Russian] exercises, ship movements, flights and so on. Is all of this going on? Yes, it is indeed."

"Saudi military intelligence has reportedly arrested two senior F-16 pilots who
refused to fly missions, after they
expressed their utmost resentment at Saudi Arabia's
alliance with America. ... White House officials and the CIA informed the Saudis that
some of their U.S.-trained pilots were jettisoning their bombs and ammunition over inconsequential or totallyunpopulated areas and then
returning to their Saudi bases."

If fear mongering were a sport, American politicians would win championships year after year.
Not too surprisingly, the Senate
yesterday rejected a NSA reform bill that was so watered down,
even National Intelligence chief
James Clapper, who lied to the Congress and the American people
about the scale of the surveillance
being carried out - supported it.

Russia Today posted a number segments worth watching today, including an interview with the Editor in chief of the journal Defense & Foreign Affairs who calls out the manistream media for failing to put the Ukraine crisis into context; coverage of yesterday's speech by Vladimir Putin on the debasement of
'democratic values' by the U.S.;
and a look at G20 body language.

"There are new fears of a possible Ebola
outbreak in New York City after a woman who was being monitored for the deadly
virus dropped dead Tuesday afternoon. ... according to a source on the scene, the woman, who had traveled to Guinea
three weeks ago, died at a hair braiding
shop in the Brownsville area of Brooklyn.'"

"In the annexation of Crimea and the
manifest destabilization of Ukraine,there is a very clear message that Western leaders pretend not to hear: the international order on which
European ties are built no longer
works. Russia, struck with sanctions by a West that is unlikely to be seen fighting for Sebastopol, has turned to China and Iran. Europe is clinging
to its grand principles and not realizing that it would do better to bring them into line with reality - before it's too late."

"You might ask: Where did U.S. Marshals  the fugitive-chasing agents of Tommy Lee Jones lore  obtain the authority to
launch this mass surveillance operation at all? Thats unclear, but thanks to some
digging by the Twitter surveillance crowd shortly after the Journal published its story,
we know the marshals are far from the
only U.S. agency using these 'dirtboxes.'"

"Six years after the financial crash that brought the world
to its knees, warning lights are once again flashing on the
global economic dashboard. ... As the global economy faces greater uncertainty, it is more important than ever that we send a clear message to the
world that Britain will not
waver on paying its debts."

"The Saudi government has flatly denied any involvement in 9/11. ... officials in Oklahoma federal
court have said that Moussaoui's requests to be allowed to speak in open court and to be assigned
government lawyers will likely
be denied, since his claims have
nothing to do with existing cases."

"If Gorbachev really thinks that after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Russia should have been granted a veto over NATO membership for its former satellite states then that is an example of the very Cold War mentality he was supposed to reject."

"If large-scale military hostilities were to break out with Russia fighting a considerable portion of the world, it would likely face
a coalition, the combined military, economic and demographicstrength of which would surpassRussian forces by at least 16-18 times. The outcome of such a confrontation is easy to forecast.Russia would be defeated and its economic and infrastructure capacity utterly destroyed."

"General Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, indicated
to the U.S. House Armed Services committee that
ISIL's strength relative to
the Iraqi Army may be such
that he would recommendabandoning Obamas oft-repeated pledge against
returning U.S. ground troops to combat in Iraq.'"

"A visit to Beijing by Kerry and a missive from Obama were key
turns in a 9-month negotiation
between worlds top polluters."

"The Republican Congress will no
doubt try and motivate Mr. Obama to more assertive action in areas where the 'great procrastinator'
has only reluctantly committed to.
If over the next two years both political camps find their way back to a tradition of bipartisanship in
foreign policy, Obama's recent course correction toward more global engagement could become the distinguishing feature of
Barack Obama's last two years."

"According to a survey by Touch Today, after the annexation of
Crimea, Putin's poll ratings in
China reached 92 percent. ...
Perhaps Chinese are reassured to see that 'Xi Dada' or the 'Xi the Great,' isn't the only great
power leader of concern to the
world. Like Putin, he's skilled in the cult of personality and
cultivates authoritarianism in order to rule with an iron rod."

Citing that the U.S. 'apologised and
made appropriate restitution' for shooting down Iran Air Flight 655 in 1988, Australia Prime Minister
Tony Abbott has confronted Putin at the APEC Summit, saying that he had information that the missile that shot down MH17 last summer 'had come out of Russia, was fired from inside eastern Ukraine and was then returned to Russia.'

"'The cable industry strongly supports an open Internet, is building an open Internet, and strongly believes thatover-regulating the fastest growing technology in our history will not advance the cause of Internet freedom.'
Translation: 'The
industry believes in something we are actively working to undermine.'"

—
National Cable and Telecommunications Association President Michael Powell

Financial Times columnist Edward Luce is of the opinion that unlike with past U.S. presidents who got whipped in midterm elections, taking refuge abroad - in this case
in China - is unlikely to bring relief.

Up until now, it has been widely believed that after the debacle
of the Watergate tapes which brought down Richard Nixon,
such recordings were stopped.
It now appears that many of Reagan's conversations were
recorded, this one with Margaret
Thatcher being just one of them.

It has been an intense 48 hours
in the city of Berlin, with people from around the world and key
players from recent history all
converging there to celebrate
25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. This post consists of coverage from Deutsche Welle, RT, Euronews and France 24. The fall of the Wall effectively marked the end of the old Cold War. I say old, because as Mikhail Gorbachev notes in speeches he gave over
the past few days, the world has
likely embarked on a new one.

"This is bad news for the world. America's enemies
from Russia to Pyongyang need no longer worry
about U.S. threats. Putin knows that Obama's hands
are tied. Over the next two years the major U.S. political parties will set the stage for the 2016
presidential campaign. Regardless of who runs,
bith Republicans and
Democrats will do things
designed only to help their candidate and diminish
the chances of their rival. For the next 24 months
America will be, sadly,focused mostly on itself."

"The most dangerous benefactor
of a Republican Congress is the U.S. military-industrial complex.
More defense spending means more war (and more war means more defense spending)."

"Convinced that America is a manifestation of 'the good,' Republicans need a force that embodies absolute evil. They have found it in the person of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
On this issue, as on the issue of Israel-Palestine negotiation, Republicans are aligned with
the positions of Netanyahu."

"I met him [Snowden]. We are working on the script. We hope to shoot early next year, we've been working on it for almost a year now
and we're very pleased it's coming along. ... We had no plans to make a film [a scripted feature] on Putin. I would love to do an interview with
him because he has a different point of view that Americans don't hear.'"

"The police are doing the bidding of the very wealthy, and trying to sweep the poorest of the poor under the rug. ... it's outrageous, but I have been fighting for 23 years to feed the homeless and spent 50 years fighting for civil rights in this country."

"I am absolutely convinced that Putin protects Russia's interests
better than anyone else. Russia agreed to new relations, [and]
created new structures for cooperation. Everything would be great but not everyone in the United States liked it.'"

"We are seeing a dramatic loss of confidence. The revelations of Edward Snowden, surveillance by the NSA and other incidents have changed our thinking - on security policy as well. On a government level, this leads many countries to expand the offensive potential of cyber technology. We return to the old motto: Attack is the best defense. But I fear that this is not correct in this case. Cyber protection is a matter of national
security, which is why: The best
defense is a better defense."

"If their leaks had achieved anything, it would have been worth the price. Assange has mainly ensured that coded diplomatic messages have more limited distribution and content, so his whole idea of more openness has been shattered. ... Snowden's NSA leaks have ensured that, here too, security has been tightened and fewer people have access to secrets. ... Given the reaction to their revelations, I expected to see violent protests against breaches of privacy and this type of government power. It looks like Assange and Snowden have surrendered their freedom for nothing."

"In the United States, where they prey on Polanski as if he were a war criminal or drug
gang boss, prosecutors and judges are elected officials. Just imagine a judge from,
let's say, California, not having the opportunity to get on newspaper first pages without a case like that of Roman Polanski. Let's catch him, let's hang his head on
our the walls of our offices!?"

"People are asking if we are worried that ISIL will come
and get us since Rob is going public. I say I'll paint a huge target on my front door and
say come on and get us."

"You're not just a lame duck this now, you're a limbless canard whose head
has been so badly garroted that it now dangles perilously from your neck like
a buckled crane. If you want to avoid a seemingly inevitable legacy as The Great Disappointment, you need to man up and start being a proper leader."

The scale of the Democrats' defeat in the U.S. midterm elections became apparent on Wednesday. ... their Republican opponents on the verge of securing their largest majority in the House of Representatives
since the World War II era.

"If their leaks had achieved anything, it would have been worth the price. Assange has mainly ensured that coded diplomatic messages have more limited distribution and content, so his whole idea of more openness has been shattered. ... Snowden's NSA leaks have ensured that, here too, security has been tightened and fewer people have access to secrets. ... Given the reaction to their revelations, I expected to see violent protests against breaches of privacy and this type of government power. It looks like Assange and Snowden have surrendered their freedom for nothing."

“Polling shows the
public backs Obama
on key issues - not Republicans. ... The
problem is that few people have any
confidence that Mr. Obama will actually
get anything done.”

"If the bill is approved, Russian citizens will have to close their dollar accounts in Russian banks within a year and exchange their dollars in cash to Russian rubles or other currencies. Failure to do so will result in their accounts
being frozen and fined."

--- Senate and House results --
State of the states -- key races to watch across the U.S. --
Immigration failure
will lead to 'civil war' among
of Democratic lawmakers.

"One thing is certain: on our mangled planet, a weakening of the president of the United States is not good news. What other world power could send in the cavalry when things go awry? China? Putin's Russia - which loathes Western values? The United Nations,
whose chronic impotence is famous?"

"Obama - who had promised to lessen
inequality - has indeed disappointed.
He also has bad luck, as this year has been a bad one around the world. ... For all these misfortunes Obama is
blamed, even if it remains extremely questionable whether he could have done anything to prevent or more effectively counteract them."

"Tim Cook is the pope of the digital church, the vicar of Steve Jobs on earth. He sells his products on all continents and with his outspoken statement he now includes a small message of tolerance with every
iPad and iPhone the company sells."

"Privacy has never been an absolute right and the debate about this should not become a reason for postponing urgent and difficult decisions. ... To those of us who have to tackle the depressing end of human behaviour on the internet, it can seem that some technology
firms are in denial on misuse."

"Like most of the world, I was entranced by this dynamic young senator. He seemed so fresh, vibrant, eloquent and smart. ... He's gone from being a shining, youthful beacon of audacious hope to a greying,
defeatist purveyor of disappointment."

Will Sweden and Finland abandon their historic
neutrality to join NATO?
In Stockholm, the case of
of the 'ghost submarine' dominated the week. ...
What worries Swedes is their military impotence.
In December 2012, the commander of the armed forces shocked the nation by declaring that in the event of an attack, the army would only be able to defend the country
for a single week?"

“We owe it to our test pilots to find out what went wrong.
And once we find out - if we can overcome it, we will make absolutely certain that the dream lives on."

To prevent such a breakup, one-
time presidential economic adviser
Andrey Illarionov says Crimea mustbe returned to Ukraine - as it is
the 'rightful owner.' Mr. Illarionov
recognizes self-determination, but only for the 'indigenous population,'which in the case of Crimea he believes to be the Crimean Tatars.'
The Native Americans in the USA
, too, don't possess their homeland. Nor do the Australian aboriginals. And then, of course, the state
of Israel should ten not exist."

“In Germany, students in
elementary school recieve
mandatory lessons on the Holocaust. In South Africa,
a Truth and Reconciliation Commission bore witness
to Apartheid. ... It is time for America to shine a light on its relationship
with the native Indians."

"Jihadists with connections to the
extremist force ISIL discuss on Web forums how they could use Ebola
as a weapon against the U.S. and
the Western world in general."

"The elite uses fear mongering toconsolidate existing structures. This has worked wonderfully well in the past - see the surveillance
state.' ... Somehow it alll seems incongruous: In their national anthem, Americans sing the praises of the 'land of the free and the home of the brave.' At the moment, though, they are afraidof each other and the world. ...
Is this the 'home of the brave?"

Over recent days, Western
media have been sounding the latest alarm - this one about Russian aircraft over Europe. Is there something to these concerns? Should the media and public officials be alarming the public over them? Or is
there some other agenda? Here is the Daily Mail's latest 'five alarm fire' report on the issue,
and reposts from Russia Today.

"IS, the extremist group now controlling large swathes of Iraq and Syria, is also making story-telling in the region
even more logistically hard,
as well as giving filmmakers
tales they don't want to tell."

"However strange, it seems that the Russian president
himself believes what the Kremlin's propagandists say on TV. Moreover, it's as if he also believed that his
guests - famous Western experts and policy makers - were ready to accept the point of view of Rossiya 1
A good number of them would likely agree that Washington, as they say in Russia, 'broke some trees,' and is responsible for a good deal of nonsense. But the view of Russia as an empire of the good - few are ready to accept.
Vladimir Putin lives in a
reality he himself created -
and
that is very dangerous.'"

"Newly released documents from the British government
reveal a lack of oversight for
how it sifts communications data collected by NSA and other foreign governments."

Jon Stewart on his directorial debut - Rosewater. With him is Maziar Bahari, whose life the film is based on. Stewart and Bahari discuss repression in the Muslim world and the absurdity of U.S. Middle East
policy and U.S. news coverage.

"The judges said Poland
failed to stop the 'torture and inhuman or degrading treatment" to which the
applicants were subjected by the CIA during their detention in Poland.'"

"Contrary to the view of Turkish President Erdogan, Obama refuses to turn the military campaign against
IS into one to speed the fall of the Assad regime. For Erdogan and his prime minister - Ahmet Davutoglu, Islamic State is a 'lesser devil' when compared with Assad. Analyst Soli Ozel
writes: 'Davutoglu is saying
that IS is the product of rage - and if the source of that rage goes, namely theSyrian regime, then such groups will also go.'"

"Mistakes were made militarily, mistakes were made by the politicians at the time and this goes back 10, 13 years. ... Clearly the numbers weren't there at the beginning, the equipment wasn't quite good enough and we've learned an awful lot from the campaign. ... But don't let's ignore what has been achieved.'"

ITAR-TASS reports that the French Defense Ministry has told French Daily Liberation that it would decide on the already-delayed deivery of
the first of two Mistral copter carrier/amphibious assault ships France sold to Russia in Novevember. Paris, after
feverish lobbying by the U.S., delayed the $1.5 billion sale in September, but has never
said it would cancel the sale.

"What has Russia gained? Russia, apparently, has gained Crimea. Although formally it will be a
long time before the legitimacy of the annexation is recognized by the world, morally at least - the peninsula is registered as
Russia's. The overall economic losses from Russia's rejection of the coup d'etat in Ukraine are significant. Political victory is not yet apparent, although, as we know, in politics, in contrast with the economy,
one must play 'the long game.'"

"The CDC Ebola Response Teams
will consist of 10-20 people who can be sent to any hospital with
a new case is lab-confirmed, or
even before, if health officials believe a person is very likely
to be infected with the virus."

"Zuckerberg enjoys immense popularity in China, despite the inability of the country's
Web users to access Facebook.
While Zuckerberg’s Mandarin
was far from fluent, during the 30-minute session he was
at times charmingly idiomatic."

"Over and above the intrusion into the private lives of their employees, I think we need to discuss the manipulation of life itself! Google, for example, currently invests in extensive
research into defeating
death. Now they want to interfere with the question of birth. Is there nothing that can resist Google? I want to add that the couple, even life itself, will no longer be able to resist, either. We are observing a stupefying seizure of power by these companies, which are meddling
with the future of humanity."

"The rhetoric calls to mind the
debates on 'scientific progress' in the 1930s. Any woman would reject state-sponsored eugenics - God forbid! On the other hand, eugenics practiced by the private
sector - well that's another story!"

"Have fun, yes, but please -
no reproduction! Because then
female employees wouldn't be
free for a few weeks. That is why now these generous brave new world corporations are offering to pay to freeze the egg cells of their employees - so they remain fully-functional as long as possible and give birth as late as possible. ... Even if everyone calls it a fad - just a friendly invitation from an employer to please set aside the desire to have children, it makes East Germany's Family Policy seem almost humane."

“The virus is a metaphor for all that conservatives loathe, and sees the presidents policies under renewed attack.”

"The BND chief said Ukrainian photos were manipulated and there are details indicating this. He also told the panel that Russian claims the missile had been fired by Ukrainian soldiers and that a Ukraine
fighter had been flying near the passenger jet were false."

"NATO needs Novorossiya [New Russia] as a springboard to reach
Russia's 'soft underbelly. Today they [the West] have one goal - to draw Russia into the Ukraine conflict. This way they could continue their policies and we would be injured or dead."

"The Kurds are a people who
numerically have a stronger claim on statehood than the mere 5 million Palestinians, but unlike the Palestinians, lack a public voice because Allah decreed they be born
and live on a sea of oil - a sea from which flows a river of dollars to many, but above
all to the Iranians and Iraqis."

"Under the arrangement, which was confirmed by Alexander and current
officials, the NSA's Chief Technical Officer Patrick Dowd, is allowed to work up to 20 hours a week at
IronNet Cybersecurity Inc., the private firm led by Alexander, his former boss."

"Vice President Joe Biden, known for his loose tongue, accidentally spoke the truth last week. The poor man had to grovel for his candor,
but he was absolutely right.
... the sheikhs and princes
eagerly use Islam to give
their authority a spiritual touch - but sooner or later it turns against them."

"Committee members are prohibited from quoting secret documents and from
making public specific
events mentioned in them.
But they see it as
their duty to ensure that
contoversialincidents are
investigated
and that the
public is told about
maladministration."

"Seventy years ago, our nations,
for humanity's sake, united to
defeat the criminal ideology of hatred that threatened the very existence of our civilization. ...Today it is important that people
in all our nations and continents
remember the consequences
that can result from the belief in ones exceptionality."

"The main lesson of the Vietnam War, even before it ended with the humiliating withdrawal of the
Americans in 1975, was that the most powerful country on earth
proved incapable of utilizing its
superior military strength to impose its will on a faraway nation.
The interventions in Afghanistan
and Iraq confirmed that conclusion. ... The elephants can kill every mosquito they can trample upon, but in the marshes, the swarm of
mosquitoes are quickly renewed."

"Nearly 70 years after Roosevelt's
death, his broad idea of freedom is not only about the autonomy of the individual, but a condition for
realizing human achievement, and is as important today as it was when it was formulated."

"This manipulation of names and concepts is everywhere to be
seen and poisons media discourse, discredits political discourse and creates a profound sense of powerlessness among citizens. ... The question is: if the Mafia
names itself 'Sicilian Cultural Association' and Goldman Sachs
renames itself 'Congregation of Barefoot Carmelites of Wall Street,' should the media use such designations? Or should it consider that the message conveyed by the designation
is at odds with with - shall we
call it the truth of the matter?"

Fadi Hakura, manager of the Turkey Project at Britain's Chatham House, one of Britian's leading think tanks, talks to host Oksana Boyco about whether the Iraqi Kurds will be able to spearhead a ground offensive against the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq - and in the face of Turkey's opposition and their own desire for an independent state.

"According to the BND's Data Protection Officer Dr. F., BND
chief Schindler sees satellite data as existing largely in a legal vacuum as it is gathered from space where German
data regulations do not apply."

"American-led air attacks
are failing. A U.S. failure to save Kobani, if it falls, will be a political as well
as military disaster. ... Western Baghdad is now under serious threat."

"Big hitters such as China or Brazil, or former colonial powers such France and the
U.K., haven't been stepping up to the plate. Instead, the single biggest medical force on the Ebola frontline has been a small island: Cuba. ... That a nation of 11 million
people and a GDP of $6,051 per capita, is leading the effort says much of the international response."

"In the miracle year of 1989, the Berlin Wall fell and common sense had prevailed. A quarter century later, we need to take care not to lose our heads. The world seems more and more like an open air
prison. Progress now
consist of
turning it into a closed one."

With Edward Snowden's
girlfriend 'coming out'and showing herself by
his side in the new film about his life, Glenn Greenwald making an appearance at TED, and
a number of other major
surveillance-tied items
breaking in the last 24 hours, we've put it all
together for you here.

"If President Recep Tayyip
Erdogan had entered into some blind arrangement with the Islamists, it was
an unparalleled mistake.
Proving once again what happens when one tries to do business with a madman
like Baghdadi, he recently
threatened to kill Erdogan."

"It's almost as if there were a standard that the West applies only to Israel - and then quickly forgets when their own country is in a fight with terrorists. This
could be called hypocrisy."

"In a disaster scenario, Ebola can cause millions of deaths, but, before that happens, it would cause such a panic that it would devastate the minimal trust which forms the foundation on which the economy and society run.
... When we observe a performance like that of the Spanish authorities, we learn that at the level of political and health incompetence, anything is possible."

"We need to figure out how (and whether) societies can restore effective democratic control over our security agencies and whether the technology that has enabled comprehensive surveillance
can serve to protect privacy."

"Public Editor Margaret Sullivan lays out why she thinks columnist
David Brooks should have revealed
that his son is in the Israeli army.
What her argument boils down to is that any connection to Israel taints a columnist morally, because she evidently believes that Israel itself is a morally stained country. With a little bit of imagination and research, she might have discovered that this is exactly how many anti-American Europeans
and others view the United States."

"The Peacemaker collection, designer Julius Kasinskis says, is set to show a different,
non-mainstream attitude in
regard to Russia's president."

"Those familiar with recent history know that the world has changed dramatically and are wary of deceptive parallels. Be that as it may, the temptation remains to cling to experiences already
lived through. ...
Obama pretends that he doesn't want to reprise Iraq or Afghanistan, yet he repeats
many of Bush's failings."

There is no threat to national security that justifies the kind of erosion of
civil liberties NCA
Chief Bristow seeks.

"It is necessary to win 'the public consent to losing some freedoms in return for greater safety and
security . Snowden's revelations have damaged public confidence in our ability to access and use
data in an appropriate way."

"This isn't just an epidemic any more. This is a humanitarian catastrophe. We don't just need
care personnel, but experts in logistics, trucks, jeeps and
foodstuffs. Such an epidemic
can destabilize entire regions."

"Obama clearly recognizes
now that the United States is indispensable as guardian of a basic level of global order, but doesn't want to
assume all the responsibility -
not to mention costs alone."

In this edition of Peter Levelle's CrossTalk, the panel attempts to make sense of American foreign
policy and lack of debate over the latest war within the United
States. Guests include Prfessor of
History at King's College Joseph Loconte, CounterPunch columnist Jason Hirthler, and author and radio host David Swanson - an all- American panel by the way. Note
is taken of the fact that ISIL is a 'product' of American foreign policy - a statement of fact that one will never encounter in the
coopted U.S. mainstream media.

"The Federal Aviation Authority has re-routed flights, and local communities have called on bush pilots to keep their distance in an effort to avoid setting off a panic that could see scores of walruses trampled to death."

"I'm not naive, this is not an isolatedmove by a senile judge in New York,' said Fernαndez. 'Because vultures look a lot like the eagles of empires,' referring to the bald eagle, the
national symbol of the United States."

"Recent reports suggest the country's weapons systems are in such disrepair that Berlin actually has very little to offer its partners."

"The rallying of four Arab states,
which have joined the American Air Force, thereby legitimizing the bombing campaign on Syrian territory, is above all symbolic. ... The important thing is that the
five are Sunni and seem finally
to have realized that they have given birth to a monster to wage a war against the Shiite axis
directed by Tehran. The extreme complexity of the overlapping conflicts in the region makes any outcome uncertain. One must hope that the barbarity of ISIL
brings a profound enough
response to trigger a new dynamic."

"The formula remains far from resolved. Yet at the dawn of this new century,
it seems the globalization of trade and information will inevitably lead to the
finding of shared solutions.
Common sense says that
both should be focused on reducing inequality and
repairing our ecosystems."

As if they haven't damaged the market positions of American
tech firms enough, data-sucking U.S. authorities are at it again, this time by suborning the likesof Microsoft, Apple and Google to allow U.S. authorites access to e-mails and other data held
in what is know as the 'Cloud'.

"The lament over Merkel's absence ignores the fact
that her absenteeism is an expression of chronic climate policy fatigue. ...
The complexity of the
issue seems to overwhelm our cerebral circuitry."

"prisoners have told of having been sodomized shortly after
their arrival. With humiliations
like these, IS seeks to regress these fighters to the condition of animals to prepare them for committing the worst atrocities. And as these sessions have been filmed, the man thus abused will be disowned by his family,
if ever he leaves the ranks of IS."

Government wins vote by to 542
to 43  Cameron: ISIS needs to be destroyed in Syria as well as Iraq -- Miliband: 2003 war means U.K. has responsibility to act now --
Read full motion on which MPs voted -- Cameron and Miliband's
speeches and summary of events.

"May the question be asked whether the intention to eliminate the leaders of IS or 'chop off the head of the dragon' is a good strategy? One cannot escape that the
successful attack on Osama bin Laden failed to halt the fundamentalist terrorism he wrought. Under the contrary - the idea that you
can stop to this barbarism with even more repression, more weapons and more bombing may prove to be
a very expensive delusion."

"Moscow will not allow Ukraine to become a rear base for its enemies.
Russia's people, inflamed by nationalist propaganda
that is more extreme than
Western brainwashing (and
that's saying something), wont have it."

"We have undergone a corprate
coup d'etat in slow motion. Our
political system is now a form of legalized bribery. ... If you defy corprate interests, these very powerful forces step in ... and
when they do they destroy you."

Degrade and destroy? The West should try to
disrupt the canny ISIL militants into self-destruction, because
bombs will backfire.

In his Damascus home, the Syrian leader can reflect that the most
powerful country -
which only last year wished to bomb him into
oblivion  now seeks to
bomb his enemies into
into the same oblivion.

"This is the Guardian's always good-place-to-start Live Blog of the initiation of U.S. and allied attacks on Islamic State targets inside Syria. It includes text, video and tweets
from around the Internet."

This is the Guardian's live coverage of all the action and climate-heating
gases being generated at the U.N.
in New York, as the world's leaders gather to tell us what they intend
to do about climate change. Quoting
U.N. 'Messenger of Peace' Actor Leonardo DiCaprio in his message to
world leaders: 'You can make
history, or you can be vilified by it.'

"This is the Guardian's always good-place-to-start Live Blog of the initiation of U.S. and allied attacks on Islamic State targets inside Syria. It includes text, video and tweets
from around the Internet."

This is coverage of People's Climate Marches in New York and other cities from Britain's Telegraph, Russia Today, CCTV China, Reuters, Free Speech TV, TeleSurof Venezuela, the U.N., Euronews of France).

"The well-known megalomaniacal
fantasies of IS jihadists, allegedly
supported by former generals ofSaddam, suggest this: The wet
dream of some of the murderers seems to be the conquest of Rome
by the Caliphate. ... The calculus
is apparently to provoke an armed escalation and ultimately, an end
-of-the-world style holy war."

" The greater and more brutal the West's response, the more these jihadis from Hell hope to fuel a potent feeling of 'double
standards' across Sunni-Muslim lands based on the fact that for three years, the international community has passively stood by the martyrdom of a nation - the Sunni majority in Syria."

"'We're putting a lot of pressure for them [wealthier countries]
at the summit on the 23rd,' U.N. envoy and former Irish president Mary Robinson told the Guardian
on the sidelines of a meeting of the U.S. Agency for International Development. But she added: 'I
know the U.S. is not going to
commit because I have asked.'"

Wikileaks Assange talks about a meeting with Google CEO Eric Schmidt and others, how Google uses its search engine and
gears its business to actively support U.S. 'imperialist' policies, calls Google Glass the realization of an Orwellian horror because it places Google between your eyes and the world, and describes
the impact Google has had on WikiLeaks.

"Tens of thousands of people across
150 countries take to the
streets to
march for action on climate change.
Dubbed the Peoples Climate March, it has been flagged as the biggest global call-to-action on climate
change in history, they demand thet world leaders take action on climate
change as they prepare for a U.N.
summit in New York on Monday."

"If Russia endures, in five to ten
years, the critical foundations of
U.S. influence will wane. A new
system of payments and a reserve banking system, international banks, reserve currencies and financial centers will emerge, thereby
accelerating flight from the dollar."

"Suppose a mere ten-year drought was to begin in Los Angeles, also impacting the Central Valley and
Sacramento. It would soon spread through Las Vegas and Phoenix, all the way to West Texas. A horror
scenario? Yes - unless you happen
to be owner of the water rights."

"If all the world agrees that the eradication of
ISIL also involves Syria,the question remains no less thorny, because an intervention in that country, unlike in Iraq, happens to require the agreement of its regime."

"Fifty years after decolonization, the elites that rule the roost in the West have learned nothing from history,and continue to look at the world through neo-colonial glasses as thick as the bottoms of coke bottles!

"Treasure Map is the mandate for a mass raid on the digital world. It aims to map
the Web, and not just the large traffic
channels likes telecommunications cables.
It also seeks to identify all devices across which our data flows, so-called routers. ... Furthermore, every single end device
connected to the Internet somewhere in
the world - every smart phone, every tablet and computer - is to be made visible."

“Apparently, there are things that aren't allowed to be said in this regard,' suspended Justice official Yasmina Haifi tells NPO Radio 1. She was in the news due to her tweet: 'ISIS has nothing to do with Islam. It's part of a plan by Zionists who are deliberately trying to blacken Islam's
name.' The New Dutch Islamic Party goes the extra mile in a tweet that
equates Zionism with the IS, and is defended under free speech rights.”

This clip from Deutsche Welle's Quadriga
program reflects the chaotic nature of
this moment in history. Former Financial
Times and International Herald Tribune
columnist Judy Dempsey & German public
radio reporter Burkhard Birke speak on
whether the world still needs the U.S.
'world police.' Both believe that is does.

"Iran, Saudi Arabia, regional superpowers, back opposing sides in Syria. They will look
closely to see if U.S. actions indirectly help their rival. ...
Many argue that the British and Americans tore open sectarian scars when they
invaded Iraq, and now risk making matters even worse."

"We will do all within our power to hunt down these murderers and ensure they face justice, however long it takes. ... they have planned and continue to plan, attacks across Europe and in our country."

"In terms of the consequencesof September 11th, there is
much in common between the
30 to 40 years olds in both the U.S. and Germany. The 9-11 generation, which ranges in age from the early thirties to
early forties, is now marked by personal fears. There are massive feelings of insecurity
due to collective experience
of violence on September 11."

"The two say they approachedthe network about creating the series, Rival Survival, in part because of their frustrations
with American partisan politics."

"This beneficial and necessary
alliance should not be turned into subjection to America - in a systematic alignment of our diplomacy with hers. ... This spirit of independence
was found again in the brave
2003 speech by Dominique
de Villepin at the U.N.,
imploring the United States not to invade Iraq - and again, history proved him [and France] a hundred times correct."

"Governments sought
use of extremist groups
as proxies in battles for regional hegemony, or as a sectarian tool pitting Shiite against Sunni and Sunni against Shiite."

FT reports that Sunni Arabs
find it 'hypocritical' Obama wants their help after he failed to act against Syria last year, but that they realize they 'have to play along to a certain extent'. The report
also says that NATO-member
Turkey has already said it will not take part in military
action against Islamic State.

"These so-called moderate rebels that people want us to support, one of them sold him probably for
between $25,000 and $50,000."

“Whatever responsibility the Syrianregime bears for the emergence of the Islamic State, the priority is no
longer ousting a bloody dictator, but preventing the creation of a jihadist state at the heart of the Arab world with networks leading straight into European suburbs. ... The absence
of a strategy, however, mustn't lead
NATO to exacerbating a conflict with
Russia simply to perpetuate itself.”

What does the president of Georgia, which was invaded and lost territory to Russia in 2008, think NATO and Ukraine should do, give the current tensions in Ukraine?
What does Ukraine's president
think of the NATO Summit?
Hardtalk speaks to both men.

What's wrong with the largest 'free for multinationals' trade agreement
in history now being negotiated in secret by governments owned andoperated by companies that stand to benefit most from the treaty? Thisvideo from the European Citizens' Initiative against TTIP explains why
the treaty is rotten for the public
and agencies meant to protect them.

"The triumphant march of ISIL
has shocked the Middle East. Barbarians rage in the heart of the Fertile Crescent. Here the alphabet was invented, the
first poems written, here
lie the oldest cultural and political
roots of humanity. This archaic
barbarism that may irreparably destroy the ancient polyglot
texture of the Middle East, has sparked a broad and self-critical debate among commentators,
scholars, politicians, and citizens."

"For all the blood that was shed at your will, and the evil done by your
your order, your punishment will
be the same as the punishment
of the liar and fratricide Cain - the curse and eternal damnation."

"If ISIL doesn't always win people over, it inspires - everywhere. The largest Muslim country in the world, Indonesia,has become alarmed by the growing popularity of IS in certain segments of the population. And here, in Europe,
an unprecedented wave of global
jihadists is rising up. Their return
from the front promises to be painful."

Precious little of significance ever happens at these events, except
people get to
know one another, which is important on some level.Although invariably, an ungodly
amount of money is spent on food,
security, enabling the delegates to ignore protesters, and here, the crass opportunism of the weapons industry pandering to NATO leaders on the cusp of a
two wars is truly embarrassing.

This is another of our regular media narrative comparisons on the Ukraine crisis. With the NATO Summit now going on in Wales, take a dip into the storyline being offered the public by Russia's English-
language broadcaster, RT.

"One of the more incongruous
sights at the NATO summit is of
military hardware strewn on the greens and bunkers of the Celtic Manor golf resort. ... Parked near one of the holes, close to a sign warning: 'Danger:
Golf In Progress from Right', are
an armored personnel carrier,
a tank and a fighter aircraft."

"Shall we die for Ukraine? ... That Ukrainian president Poroshenko
and his officials are now talking of an invasion does, of course, have a political backdrop: He wants to involve the West in the conflict. ...
The United States and European
Union should not give him his wish."

"Russia's recent actions in east Ukraine violate the principles of European security. The president of the republic stated
that despite prospects for cease-fire, which is yet to be achieved and put into practice, present circumstances do not allow the delivery of the first helicopter
carrier by the French republic."

The panel discusses the diametrically- opposed narratives over Ukraine, and
the 'fact deprived' way Western media
depicts unfolding events in the region.

"CDA Party leader Buma has asked that theglorification of terrorism be criminalized.
The occasion was publication of disgusting
photos of the beheading of James Foley, and parodies depicting other 'victims.' ... Would such a criminalization be legally possible - and would it improve matters? ... Many potential suspects would simply 'enjoy' being convicted. So much free
publicity (and if convicted - martyrdom)."

Is the Islamic State being built into a monolithic enemy for
the purpose of preparing the
American people for another war/military intervention? Or is this media demonization just a way for policy makers to cover their butts - just in
case something does happen?

Video purports to show beheading of second U.S. journalist -- Release falls two weeks after killing of U.S. journalist James Foley -- 'A few' Americans still held by group -- U.S. State department: 'We are sickened'.

The Daily Mail reports that
the culprit, who said he leads a band of hackers, is on the run, and accoridngto the Mirror, he was paid in Bitcoin for some of the nude photos of celebrities
he stole from the iCloud.

"More than a Caliph, Al Baghdadi has the personality of the Godfather. ...
As he fights, rebuilds homes, profits from crime and recruits terrorists, Baghdadi would be laughing at the 'jayvee team putting on Kobe Bryant jerseys' - if anyone took the time to translate the naive text of the
very cultured New Yorker magazine."

Is the Islamic State being built into a monolithic enemy for
the purpose of preparing the
American people for another war/military intervention? Or is this media demonization just a way for policy makers to cover their butts - just in
case something does happen?

Instinctive militarism is now the Republican
way; force is answer
to every question.

"Above all, he lacks the talentwhich Gorbachev maintained
was most important in a U.S. president: Barack Obama does not enjoy, deep down, the trust of the American people.That is why all the players in
the Mideast - allied, neutral, and deadly adversaries, feel
free to act against the U.S."

“As long as the Kremlin denies it runs the show in eastern Ukraine,
honest talks cannot be conducted. ... So what's left for President
Poroshenko and Kiev officials to do? They must prepare the people, for better or worse, for the fact
that part of the Donbas region,
which is still in the hands of pro-
Russian militia forces, is lost.”

“Commentators have urged the American authorities to fight discrimination more vigorously. How about the French authorities? There may not be enough Black members of the American
police, but does France have enough Muslims in the French police? ... Ferguson is in fact not that exotic.”

In this episode, Max Keiser &
Stacey Herbert highight the connection between the crisis in Ferguson and the massive political and bank fraud that
continues with impunity in the United States and beyond. An
excellent episode of pathos
and righteous indignation.

“We all must take this barbaric killing which has been so grotesquely exhibited by those who committed it for what it is:
an admission of weakness and impotence, a pathetic attempt to loosen a military vise.
Not looking at what the barbarians want
us to see is a way of saying, modesty - no,
we won't take part in this macabre game.”

The causes that led to the rise of ISIL are all too familiar - and theAmericans have contributed their
share to them.

“A shift in political consciousness is taking place in the democracies, especially in the United States, which may lead to a situation in which it will not only be possible
to eliminate the right to well-
informed participate in society,
but to criminalize that participation.”

Chuck Hagel and Martin Dempsey were pure Hollywood. They only needed Tom Cruise. ... Who writes this God- awful script? Cant the U.S. Defence Secretary and his joint chiefs
chair do any better?

"The U.S. has already covertly
assisted the Assad regime by passing on intelligence about the exact location of jihadi leaders through the BND, the
German intelligence service, a
source tells The Independent.This may explain why Syrian
planes and artillery have been
able on occasion to target rebel
troops, headquarters accurately."

“After the mass murders of Sept.
11, the solution was for every police station to be prepared for the worst. Just as the U.S. wages its wars like criminal actions by the world police, local police back
home are drafted as auxiliary troops in the war on terror.”

"The sanctions show clearly to all that the rules favor the West. If that's how it is, then so be it. If you wantto use them - then learn them. If you don't want to use them - that's your choice, but just know what you will
be deprived of. Sanctionsimposed by the West, and the ones we've imposed in return, will prompt people in advance to what this would cost them personally."

CIA's former point man defends waterboarding;
Can ISIL be defeated by Americans, Europeans,
Kurds, Iranians?; Berlin cries then spies; and the
forgotten Ukraine war.

"In the long run, Russia can
not live as is in a besieged fortress and with its global reputation in tatters. For
its own modernization and development, it is Russia
who needs Europe and the
U.S.- and not the other way round. In Russia, where
Putin enjoys strong support today, forces will emerge that will understand that."

The 'war on terror' has made jihadism stronger than ever. ISIL is being gladly assisted by those in the West who portray
it as a pure and unique
evil which must be
onliterated, granting the militant group the
mystique it so craves.

“Nobody in their right mind wants
additional violent protests. But, as
Reverend King
said, 'a riot is
the language
of the unheard'”

“The Russian president, an
ex-KGB officer, is hostage to his own cult, which is having a collective orgasm over Crimea. He cannot
show the country, which stands firmly behind him, any form of weakness. Will he unflinchingly lead another generation of young Russians to their deaths?”

“The interests of business
and those of the
nation very often do not coincide. When the mood, passion, love and indignation of the people boil,
then one must sacrifice the interests of business.”

"The United States has begun
to use information provided by [German double agent]
Markus R. in its dispute over U.S. espionage in Germany. Clinton's intercepted phone
call is being taken as proof that the Germans were also
spying on the United States."

"Throughout this entire time I have not been charged. Europe is meant to be a place where the rule of law is respected,
and basic rights are respected ... but somehow a situation has developed where basic rights
we thought were universally
held are no longer respected."

"At first, the sick and hopeless, were people who were distant,
poor, and superstitious. So they
died, and no one spoke of them
again. Today, being indifferent
to the suburbs of the world and
which face the greatest crises, is not only morally wrong, but a political mistake. It is also a luxury we can no longer afford."

“The number of victims of AIDS, violence and natural disaster - none compare with the number of suicide victims. ... It isn't discussed. ... It's no coincidence that the person who committed
the worst crime - the
betrayer
of God Judas - hung himself.”

"It is the dawn of a decisive moment when the region swings to one side or the other. Our role is to help it choose life over death. ...
Today, resort to unilateralstrikes is not a solution. The action cannot be taken without a U.N. resolution. We must not continually repeat the same mistakes. ... Let us remember that even without American unilateral intervention in 2003, there would not have been such a boulevard for totalitarian forces in Iraq."

"This tragedy, which has been building for months, first had
to hit the minority Christiansfor Obama to finally find that, 'the United States cannot look
away,' at atrocities committed by the Islamic State. It's never
too late, of course. One need
only read reports from
Najaf and Sadr City to understand the extent of the chaos in the region and the imperative to finally begin to act."

"Is it melancholy to think that a world that Robin Williams can't live in mustbe broken? To tie this sad event to the overarching
misery of our times? ... Suicide among the middle-
aged rose inexplicably in 1999 and has been rising
ever since. Could this be a condition of our era?"

Physical illness the medical profession understands. It knows what to do when the
body malfunctions and what not to do. Mental illness, if illness is the right word, seems lost in some dark age.

“After several years, Europe and the
West may end up dealing with a nation that is so firmly in the throes of anti-American and anti-Western sentiment
that the Soviet Union will seem like
a close ally by comparison.”

"As paid-for sex becomes readily and discreetly available online,
more people will buy it. Greater awareness may develop that not all sex workers are the victims of exploitation. ... The internet has disrupted many industries. The oldest one is no exception."

“Obama, son of a White woman from Kansas and a Kenyan man, has special reasons to promote this strategic approach, but the truth is that America knows that as the leading power, it cannot remain aloof to the
development of the continent.”

The centenary has been seized as a military propaganda
ploy. The So-called lessons learned have
been either ignored
or utterly forgotten.

It was 100 years ago today that Germany and Austria mobilized and formally began World War I, also known for a time as the 'war to end all wars.' About 17 million people were killed as a direct result of the hostilities.
Ceremonies were held around
Europe and as far as Singapore.

“Hope of eradicating the Islamist militants by force makes no sense. Other, even more extremist fighters, would take the place of
Hamas. It is essential for Western diplomats to take that decision, impose it on Israel, and stop playing the game of the Islamists and their allies in the Arab world.”

Former NCA chief General Keith Alexander is being sued for blatantly using his knowledge of America's secrets to earn $1 million a month since leaving office.

Max Keiser and his partnerStacy Herbert look at one
of the most profound issues
of our time: how the major coroprations companies no longer have nationalities, inother words, an allegiance
to any particular country.

“Israeli intelligence snooped on telephone conversations
by Secretary of State John Kerry. The government then used the information obtained
from the calls during talks on
the conflict in the Gaza strip.”

"What we know today is that the incident that was reported to have taken place in the South China
Sea off the Vietnamese coast didn't ever happen."

“If we want to build bridges to the
Russian people, we should counter restrictions on the free movement of people and goods, abolish visa requirements and remove import tariffs on Russian goods. The gap between 'us and them' is precisely
what nationalists like Putin prefer.”

"Of all the wars we don't know how to settle, none will so scandalize future generations like the one that has been raging between Israel and the Arabs since 1948. Because after hasty Nobel Peace Prizes for the martyr Rabin,
Arafat and Obama, after all of the conferences, demonstrations, and an
abundance of tomes, the old fairy tale
of 'two peoples, two states' always wins
applause from the well-intentioned, and earns good grades for university degree thesis, but on the ground, in the West Bank, Gaza and Jerusalem, it is an impossible equation."

"Attempts to avoid economic collapse in the country could pull us into a full-scale war, possibly even a nuclear war. the threat of total geopolitical defeat, and to all of Russian civilization, which
is what this is, would push us to act."

" The only question is - who did it? ... What is in doubt?
First, the way the aircraft dramatically changed course. Second, the airline lost overthe Indian Ocean in April, the fate of which remains
unknown. Third, the desire of the Kiev authorities to ensure that such incidents
continued to take place."

This is today's surveillance- related post, in which we deal with the NSA 'reform' legislation, and the way it
has become the common practice for Internet sites to 'experiment' with your emotions by deliberately
lying to you about what your
information is being used for.

"In this country, there are news networks that just promote their
own agenda and if the truth
happens to be a part of it, gee,
what a nice bonus."

Today was a monumentally
bad day for Russia and Putin. Not only does it appear that
'tier three' sanctions from the E.U., and U.S. appear
imminent, the Permanent
Court of Arbitration in the
Hague, a global institution that appears to have real teeth, has ruled that the Russian government must pay a whopping $50 billion to the shareholders of
bankrupt oil firm Yukos.

"Alied support for Holland has
up to now amounted to almost nothing. ... but the biggest disappointment are the mousey efforts of Angela Merkel. There are times that call for clarity and leadership. Perhaps she couldn't defy those in Germanpolitics and finance who lobby
on behalf of Russia's government."

“Pro-Palestinian riots show
France's failure to assimilate large segments its Muslim
population. It is time to for us to proactively respond tothe consequences and with
both hands, commit to the search for a way to stabilize
the Middle East. The Mistral affair (sale of assault ships to Russia) gives France a
special responsibility to act.”

For those who haven't seen BBC's
HARDtalk, it is a program meant to put its guests on the spot with a barrage of questions they might find hard to answer. HARDtalk recently questioned Israeli-born
historian Ilan Pappe, Hamas chief Khaled Mashal, and Israel's formerdefense minister Danny Danon.

"Oliver Cromwell, for instance, would almost certainly be a terrorist. Come to think of it, so, too, would Moses and his famous (and very violent) run- in with the Egyptian state."

“From the beginning, the so-called Kerry initiative was a
joke. We are currently verynear the point of no return.The number of settlers is
increasing and a solution to
the problem is already nearly
impossible logistically, even if the political will were there.”

If you wanted to distill the conflictbetween Western corporate media and Russia's state-run media over
MH17, it would be hard to do better.

“Something is wrong with the West
if it answers the chaos of Putin with cynicism. If we, people of the West, retain even a shred of reason and decency, we should return to our
idealism, which asserts that dignity is the common right of all human beings, and that the suffering of innocents is always a scandal.”

They discuss how the intelligence
services compile information on
everyone online, and Snowden urges the assembled geeks to develop platforms to make the
activities of users harder to track.

“It's sad to note that the Russia of Leo Tolstoy and Anna Akhmatova is once again held hostage by a barbaric tyrant. Today we mourn the Dutch victims. The people of Russia must also mourn the barbarism that has seized the Russian state.”

“ Here and there, calls are even being made for the Netherlands' military and F16s to be sent to Ukraine to teach the separatists a
lesson. Understandable asthat may be, that road cannot be taken. ... Now is the time for Europe to adopt and implement the
economic sanctions Obama announced against Russia.
The E.U. has to coalesce
themselves and with U.S.”

“Prime Minister Rutte must threaten
the use of Dutch elite troops to build pressure on the rebels and Vladimir
Putin. And if he makes such a threat, he must be prepared to deploy them. It is bizarre that Dutch journalists are able to enter the crime scene, while crash investigators and the forensic
specialists are stuck for days on end.”

They discuss how the intelligence
services compile information on
everyone online, and Snowden urges the assembled geeks to develop platforms to make the
activities of users harder to track.

“Slowly, Foreign Ministry
officials are beginning to
grapple with the meaning
of '360 degree' counter-
intelligence. That requiresdefending yourself not just
from the usual suspects like
Russia or China, but even our closest allies, notably the U.S.”

"But many E.U. leaders believe that sufficient action was taken
at a summit last week when
they expanded sanctions largely focused on banning travel and
blocking foreign bank accounts of Putin-friendly oligarchs."

"It is significant that the only country doing anything to directly defend Ukraine is the United States, which has no interests there whatsoever. ...
Many say that new U.S. sanctions are still too weak, but one must recall that they're the only real sanctions we have, and they create jangled nerves among Moscow politicians, while the Russian stock exchange
and ruble have noth tumbled
sharply. ... Therefore, they work."

“The creation of a common
BRICS reserve fund and a development bank, based in Shanghai and managed by
India, is an open challenge
to Bretton Woods, which was created in July 1944 based on the twin pillars of the IMF and World Bank.”

"The burst of activity during that
period, including in the White
House, a diplomatic scramble and the decision to force a foreign
leader's plane to land - was far
more extensive than American
officials admitted at the time."

“If the seperatists are indeed
responsible for downing the
Malaysia Airlines plane, the
Kremlin will then face a hard
choice. It can drop the rebels, close the borders to weaponry and volunteers, and then watch the Ukrainian army quash the
revolt. That would be a bitter
pill for Putin. The alternative, however, is also unattractive: a
return to the days of Cold War.”

"Ordinary Muscovites express horror at the tragedy even as they entertain
the wildest conspiracies imaginable."

“Some of the controversial
U.S. 'sting' operations 'were
made or led by informants,' bordering on entrapment by law enforcement. Yet the
courtroom difficulties of
demonstrating entrapmentare significant, which is one
one reasonsthe stings persist.”

Aidan White, Director of the UK- based Ethical Journalism Network, takes on Russia Today host Oksana
Boyko, in an exchange over the value of state-controlled media. White draws a clear distinction
between networks that at least occassionally, challenge their own
governments, and those like Russia
Today that just about never do.

On July 17, a Malaysia Airlines aircraft carrying 298 people was shot down. This is footage from the scene of the crash, and the reaction of residents who witnessed the tragedy firsthand.

"Barack Obama threatened to
'increase the costs' on Russia if Moscow fails to deescalate the situation in Ukraine, as U.S. and other Western officials said there was mounting evidence that Russia-backed separatists
downed the Malaysia Air jet."

“we cannot pretend that the war happening now right on our border is not our war. ... They are killing our brothers and sisters. They are killing those who want to be part of Russia. By turning away from them and absolving ourselves
of the need to defend them,
we only help our enemies, and that is unforgivable.”

Snowden opens by explaining how
journalists, doctors, lawyers, and
anyone who needs to protect the confidentiality of their client must
adjust to the mass surveillance we
are all living under. He also talks about the possibility of ending up in Guantanamo 'in chains,' and thetype of behavior exhibited by NSA analysts when encountering theprivate e-mails, videos and photos of innocent Americans and others.

"We owe a great deal to him for revealing this kind of information.
Those who disclose human rights violations should be protected: we need them. ... I see some of it here in the case of Snowden, because his revelations go to the core of what we are saying about the need for transparency and
consultation. We owe a great deal."

The latest Snowden documents show the everything we say and do, and every e-mail we send,
is being recorded for later use.
As far as these agencies are
concerned, every person we interact with and everything we buy or express an interest in is fair game for monitoring and
furture legal action against us.

"The court believes that there is probable cause for the crimes of which he is accused. ... He has chosen himself to go into the embassy and ... the court does not believe that the deprivation of his liberty is such as to be
disproportionate to the charges."

The facility in Lourdes, a suburb of Havana just 250km from the continental U.S., was opened in
1967. At its Cold War peak, it was the largest signal intelligence center Moscow operated in a
foreign nation, with 3,000 people.

"If Berlin no longer wishes to be made a fool of by its 'friends,' it must assert its independence by sending a
clear signal. Offering Asylum
to Edward Snowden would be our revenge."

In addition to the esionage crisis in Germany, this is a big week for
surveillance in Britain. Not only
did the UK government ram
through new powers for state surveillance, but a special week-long hearing is being conducted on whether GHCQ, Britain's version of the NSA, routinely violates the human rights of UK citizens.

"Every great financial crisis
leads not only to a bank and
business bankruptcies, but a string of social catastrophes that are expressed in the loss of jobs, drops in familyincome for the most affected, and psychological pain. That is just what happened after the global crisis that broke out in September 2008. One of the consequences in Spain was increased migration, especially to other European
nations, but also to America."

“Hillary recognizes the mistake she made when she approved
the war in Iraq, but has stayed very cautious on the subject. ... A number of neoconservatives would be ready to rally behind her, especially if the Republican
Party of Reagan and McCain were to choose as its candidate the very isolationist Senator Rand
Paul of of the state of Kentucky.”

There has been a lot to report on the subject of spying and lying today, so we have packaged it all together for you, staring with breaking news
that Germany is demanding that the
U.S. provide an unequivical promise
to curtail all of its spying in Germany.

"Their dream is as mad as that
of the classless world that the communists dreamed of or the Third Reich, but one must remember that the Reds of Trotsky and Lenin defeated the White Russian armies financed by the West. ... The United States should go much further to reconcile with Iran."

“The world may still be reeling from last night's World Cup semi-Final between Germany and Brazil, but none more so than Nate Silver the celebrated statistician
of fivethiryeight blog.”

This is a roundup of today's reaction to news that a mole, paid by the CIA, has been exposed in the German
intelligence Service, the BND, who
was spying on the deliberations
of German lawmakers investigating NSA mass surveillance in Germany.

“Before the secret session of the NSA Committee of Inquiry'shearing on Thursday began, a
big metal box was put where
all phones and tablet computers
were placed, and ChairmainPatrick Sensburg turned on some music. Edvard Grieg's Piano Concerto in A Minor was heard - just to be safe.”

"In order to get the situation fully under control, America
will have to turn its attention from Ukraine. That will give us some breathing space and the opportunity to regroupour forces. ... As cynical as it
sounds, Iraq is a lucky break."

“Fourteen hundred years ago, Caliph Omar, like ISIS today, invaded the Persian empire with thousands of fanatical fighters. ... ISIS is the most backward form of Sunni Islam, but reflects a new political
impetus. Behind the smoke, I see America, the U.K. and Europe, providing this violent group with the time it needsto expand the limits of its
caliphate into Iranian lans.”

In what has renewed German
outrage over NSA mass surveillance
and brought new impetus to efforts
to offer Edward Snowden Asylum
in Germany, America's ambassador
to Berlin has been summoned by the
German Foreign Ministry to explain what Washington was doing paying a German intelligence officer to
spy on the German legislature.

“Merely searching the Web for the privacy-enhancing software tools outlined in the XKeyscore rules causes the NSA to mark and track the IP address of the person doing the search.”

“July is when war begins unless
it is headed off by Snowden full release of crippling intel. After
war begins there won't be any
chance of release. Warmongers
are on a rampage. So, yes, the citizens holding Snowden docs will do the right thing.”

"I wonder if many of the issues that
plague us - all of the things we often
complain about in columns like this,
are due to the unfortunate wording
of the July 4th, 1776 Declaration of
Independence ... which established
that 'all men are endowed with the
Right to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit
of Happiness.' ... The fact is happiness,
like complete fullness, or the feeling
of walking on air, is
transient, episodic, and short lived."

“Fears that Sikorski's comments would spoil our ties with America or damage his personal influence in Washington are exaggerated.
Americans have very high self
esteem, and no critical judgments
by foreigners are able of shaking
their complacency of themselves.”

"Every year around this time, as a Brit living in the US, I'm aware
that the funhouse mirror through which both nations regard each other is even weirder and more distorting than usual: America celebrates its independence from
from Britain, and Britain looks
on at on at the July 4th pageantry, half-mocking, half-envious."

“The factors for footbal success are a big population, a strong economy, and a fervent fan base. For years, the U.S. has had two out of three - a big population from which to draw top talent
and the cash to support a training infrastructure and elite football community. But with little interest from most Americans, talented
athletes and cash went elsewhere.”

"We can fight ISIS and al-Qaeda whenever we want to, but now
we're fighting for our lands and
tribes. We are not responsible for ISIS. Look what Maliki hasdone  look at the two million refugees. He has destroyed and
killed. Where was the world?"

“I know there are some Americans out there who are relatively new to the game of 'soccer,' so lest there
be any confusion after your heroic, magnificent, triumphant defeat at the hands of Germany, be aware that if you lose tonight's match you are definitely out of the tournament.”

"As of July 1, banks around the world will be required to supply Washington with
regular updates on clients liable to pay U.S. tax. This
means Switzerlands much-vaunted tradition of bank
secrecy is now at an end."

“The fact that thousands of Islamists in the spirit of al-Qaeda are battling
Bashar al-Assad is something that the United States finds a little confusing.”

"Determined to preserve American exceptionalism against a rising tide of baguette-munching ball-juggling pinko Europhile hippy surrender-communism, Ann Coulter has come to the rescue: 'Any growing interest
in soccer,' she wrote, 'can only be a sign of the nation's moral decay.'"

“Although a lot of black, red and gold face paint was washed away in the rain over the course of the evening, joy and euphoria prevailed. ... When the final whistle was blown, arms, flags and rain ponchos flew into the air.
Others opted for full-body painting at
a booth where spray guns enveloped
scantily clad people in a fog of color.”

"What are the interests of the Kremlin in having the Polish
government, its Parliament,
its secret services, and its diplomacy, unable to mobilize
themselves, and their foreign partners in aiding Ukraine, and instead, attacking one another? What can Putin gain by knowing that for at least six months, Polish politicians will be kept off the field in
Ukraine, instead ensconced in a domestic political brawl? The answers are obvious."

"To say that Portugal has physical problems would
be like saying Iraq has a security problem. ... If the other teams didn't
run, we might even win."

The team is physically unprepared. ... The head doesn't work, and only in case of emergency does it
feed the body with 'fuel'. There is no idea of playing the game with this team: it is each doing his own thing, and in case of trouble, 'let's see where Ronaldo is.'

“No matter what these liars and political scam artists claim: It was the falsified 'evidence' about weapons of mass destruction, the Bush Administration's almost moronic war planning, the utter lack of a concept in the aftermath of military victory, and the mad
fantasies of omnipotence held by Bush and his cabinet, which have
led us directly to today's situation.”

"In Tal Afar, once held up as an example of US military success, the machine guns and armored
vehicles left by U.S. troops are
now being used by the very insurgents they sought to defeat.

“The Russians wanted the talks,
because they feel the burden of
isolation that befell them after the annexation of Crimea and
their stirring up of east Ukraine.
The object of this phase of the
game was not to soften or to convince Lavrov. The ministers
were there to keep channels of
communication with Russia open.”

"The Iraqi army is unable to beat back the jihadists, nor is Syria's. ... The West has to ask itself why it stood by so long and watched while allies delivered weapons (and money) to Syria, both of which ended up in the hands of extremists. It is high time for the West to recognize what's at stake in Syria, and change its policy.

Having trouble making sense of what has happened in Iraq? Tune into tonight's edition of Worldmeets.US Radio News. In addition to shaming America's
shameful, shameless corporate media, Managing Editor William
Kern examines the history of how our nation got here and
what the U.S. should to do next.

"Germany has defended France'splan to deliver a warship to Russia
despite U.S. criticism of the move."

"We are for leaving NATO, France leaving
NATO, we have a Gaullian vision of what international politics must be like, we are for developing our relations with Russia,
without breaking ties with the Americans."

"There are several thousand non-Syrians. My goodness! These are your nationals that are training in Syria and that are
part of ISIS, which believes in building
an Islamic state all over the
world, first in Berlin. That's a threat to you, isn't it?"

“They [Russian spies] did not approach him until he went to Hong Kong, when agents persuaded him that President Putin's Russia was the best place for him to seek asylum in a nation of his
choice. It was a trick and he fell for it.”

"In 2014, a sober westward glance from the beaches of Normandy would make clear that it has been a long time since a savior and assister came from that direction. The financial crises of 2001
and 2008, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and now the dismantling of civil rights by the NSA and the planned TTIP, show that Europeans, rather than benefitting, are far more likely to choke on genetically modified corn soup served up by powerful
U.S. financial lobby groups.

“some of us feared he would be an upmarket version of Jimmy Carter. Today, that fear has been realized. It is difficult to ascertain why
Obama behaves as he does. Is he motivated by a deep resentment of America
absorbed in his youth? Or is he handicapped by lack of
experience? He may really believes that by abdicating
leadership, the U.S. will win love instead of respect.”

"NATO members from the Baltics and East Europe are calling for a lasting and visible presence of combat troops and up-to-date equipment in Eastern Europe.
Many southern European states
and Germany say this is too much.

When French President Francois Hollande invited Russia President Putin to
70th anniversary events for the D-Day landings, he
didn't know how significant
it would be. With a world watching, did gathering Putin and Western leaders
break the tension over Ukraine? Here is a series of reports from European and Russian media on the event
and the event's aftermath.

"Liberalism and tolerance invite defeat, whereas cruelty gives us a chance to succeed. The truth though, is that this would not only be a victory over Putin,
but over our own humanity. If Ukraine
does manage to withstand the Russian onslaught, how will it differ from it?"

“After these details were withheld, the government opted not to move against
the Guardian
last year for publishing above-top-secret information at the lower level designated 'Strap 1.'”

"Obama himself has disappointed us
before. But Russian aggression has changed both the U.S. and Obama, who is less afraid of a geopolitical
confrontation than West Europeans. Obama may have cared little for our security, but our European allies have cared even less. The Germans in particular provide ample proof that their neighbor's fate is less
vital than keeping Putin happy."

“Only two years remain of Mr. Obama's mandate to judge his capacity to accept
the idea that sometimes, 'indifference can be more dangerous than interference.”

"Who's going to contradict Obama when he says that even the greatest army in the world isn't the solution to everything? ... That's good news for those who only see the mistakes of U.S. action over the past 60 years, but such peoplemust also answer this: what other country can stop the even bigger culprits?'"

This is the anniversary not only of Poland's accession to NATO, but Poland's historic elections of 1989, and the anniversary of D-Day, which is coming up in a few days. Here is what we have been able to put together so far.
We will add more video to this post as it becomes available.

Will Obama's executive order on
on capping carbon pollution make
any real difference? Judging from
the reaction from former Vice
President Gore ('the most vital step on climate change in U.S. history') to Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell (a 'dagger in the heart of the middle class') it certainly will have an impact.

“Photos of Taliban militants embracing their comrades released from Guantanamo seemed designed to enrage Republican opponents of President Obama who saw the deal as soft on terrorism.”

"In the Soviet Union there was also great concern for morality. Pink Floyd was forbidden for 'meddling in the Soviet Union's foreign policy (Afghanistan)', The Talking Heads for 'voicing the myth of the Soviet
military threat.' Tina Turner was banned simply for 'sex,' and poor Julio Iglesias was outlawed for 'neo-fascism.'"

“The NSA has disputed Edward Snowden's insistence that he
tried to raise his concerns about its surveillance practices internallybefore he decided to go public.”

"Literally on the eve of
the Crimea Anschluss, Riga
indulged in 'opening thefloodgates' of money and influence from the East. ... 'Russian World' is not anathema to the West, and may even prove a very lucrative event. Aggression in Ukraine surprised some of our influential people and made them a little uncomfortable. Yet they are convinced that sooner or
later, all will continue as usual, and they will want to
step in the same river twice.'"

“German officials - including the
government - can't read matrial leaked by Snowden regarding the mass surveillance of digital communications. If they do so
anyway, they are then liable for prosecution. ... We wonder how the federal government intendsto protect us from espionage if it isn't permitted to find out about it. Perhaps, however,
that is the whole idea.”

This is the network's initial overview of President Obama's speech today on
the future of U.S. foreign policy, at the West Point Military Academy. The
summary of the message, according
to U.S. editor Mark Mardell: 'Just because we have the best hammer,
doesn't mean every problem is a nail.'

“The veto power of the five permanent members of the Security Council is the victor's spoil of the Second World War. .. In a multipolar world, the persistence of the veto in the
hands of a Sino-Russia alliance
is encouragement to regimes like that of Assad, which are given a free hand to act
against his their populations.”

"Protests in Germany focus
on the prospect of previously forbidden products from the United States having to be
permitted into the E.U. (like
chlorinated chicken and GMO corn). Even more important
is the question of investor
protection. According to plans for TTIP, investors would be able to turn to international courts for arbitration when
one may feel they have been discriminated against. For many critics, these courts are an attack on the rule of [national] law."

“We have a historic opportunity to bring the European Union and the United States closer together. Allies who grew apart as the Cold War faded, we began to compete more than search for commonalities. Much was said about renewing the trans-Atlantic Alliance, but the facts were different. Let Berlin's shock and outrage over the disclosure of NSA
spying be a symbol of this tendency.”

“It isn't politically correct to say, but
this is the way it is: the impression is
that a weak, unpopular, unsuccessfulpresident is trying to wound a strong, successful, and very popular president.”

"Whereas China's poweris growing, Russia is in
decline - corroded by corruption and unable to diversify its economy
off of natural resources.
China's government will expect the Kremlin to recognise this historic
shift - which is a recipe for Chinese impatience and Russian resentment."

“In order to preserve
the core operations of the
the intelligence and law enforcement agencies, the administration insisted on
broadening some authorities
and lessening restrictions. Some of the changes raise
justifiable concerns. I don't blame people for losing trust in their government, because the government
has violated their trust.”

"Unlike the Cold War
and Soviet propaganda,
Vladimir Putin doesn't need to slavishly relay his message through the communist parties
of the West. It's enough for him to score points directly with a large
chunk of the population
that does not swoon before the singing of Conchita Wurst, and who don't see the defense of homosexual marriage or the advertising of more unbridled sexual behavior as a priority for our civilization, which is
struggling to deal with
other pressing issues."

“Paradoxically, sanctions
and the end of space-levelcooperation may bring not only losses, but benefits for both countries. Cut off from access to Russian engines, space industry in the United States will be incentivized, accelerating the process of decoupling the transport of American astronauts to ISS aboard R
ussian rockets. For theirpart, the Russian Academy
of Sciences points to the creation of a lunar base.”

"New York's largest bookstore is filled to the brim. Many arrived hours before the reading. While
Warren talks, questions written
on pieces of paper are collected.
What's the most asked question, the moderator wants to know. 'Whether or not I'm running for president,' the senator says. In
response, a woman shouts, 'Run, Liz, run!' and applause breaks out. Warren smiles and shakes her head. 'No, I'm not running,' she says. The audience responds in unison, 'Awww!'"

"When the worst kind of clients for defense attorneys are the innocent, [rather
than go to trial] one is better off pretending to have come
down with an illness and being resigned to long therapy with an uncertain outcome,
whatever the truth may be."

The U.S. role in
Ukraine, and its backing for the regime's neo-Nazis,
has tremendous implications for the rest of the world.

"Let us not kid ourselves. In the final analysis, every free person in this world has only one protector and defender: The United States of America. Those with doubts should
put themselves in the protection of Russia or China - whose intelligence
services act no differently than those of the United States, by the way."

“The European court judges ruled
that under the E.U. data protection laws Google has to erase links to
two pages on La Vanguardia's Web
site from the results produced when Gonzalez's name is put into
the search engine of the company.”

"In the hours after his name became known, the entire world was searching for the NSA whistleblower, and it
became vital that his location
in Hong Kong stay secret. In an extract from a new book, No Place to Hide, Greenwald recalls the dramatic events
surrounding the moment Ed
Snowden revealed himself."

“As a gift for our patience and stoicism, for our labor and our
faith, the Lord sent us Crimea. Russian people once divided by our enemies, united again by victory's embrace. ... Even as we celebrate the sacred victory of '45, we hear the treads of
enemy tanks in eastern Ukraine, where the bodies of militia are
mutilated, the heads of Russians
crushed. A new battle
against fascism is now inevitable.”

"The facts are quite different - even if China will probably eventually overtake America, for now its GDP is half that of the United States. ... Ukraine
is not an American ally, has little impact on the global economy, and has no natural resources. Why should U.S.
troops die for Ukraine? Only
a few years ago, Americans almost spent more on arms than the rest of the world
combined. Five-year bonds are now sold at negative interest - meaning that,
taking inflation into account, investors can expect a small loss in five years, but they
are buying Treasuries anyway."

"The letter says the FCC rules
shouldn't permit 'individualized bargaining and discrimination,'
the companies said. '[The FCC must] take the necessary steps
to ensure that the Internet remains an open platform
for speech and for commerce.'"

“The Committee of Inquiry shouldn't turn itself into a fig-leaf for a government that is only pretending to
cooperate. Any limitations on the clarification of facts in the espionage scandal,
whether commected to comprehensive access to files or obtaining testimony from Edward Snowden will be unequivocally rejected.”

"Inequality as usual in the U.S., and
and now on the Net as well. You
think that's unimportant, irrelevant,
and the 'normal course of events?' You are so wrong."

Join us as we speak to Philippine radio host and columnist Jarius Bondoc about how the Philippines fits into America's
Asia Pivot. Mr. Bondoc has spoken out
in opposition to the Enhanced Defense
Cooperation Agreement with the U.S., which was signed during President Obama's Asia tour, and which will give U.S. forces nearly unlimited access to
Philippine bases for military operations.

"The NSA spy scandal remains a sore point, and despite the common message to Putin,
there remain differences on
new sanctions against Russia."

Poland has made great efforts to woo Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova to act as a buffer zone
between itself and Russia. That is precisely what Russia says it is doing to create a buffer between itself and NATO-E.U.

Friday's figures are a warning
that America's recovery may be losing momentum. ... Bond tapering
by the FED may be
doing more harm than expected.

"The 'affairs' of Frazier Glenn Miller and Donald Sterling show, if there was any need to do so again, the incredible hypocrisy of American society which is supposedly 'post-racial' or, as Bush Jr. called it, 'color blind.' Between the lying of the White racists, who do precisely the opposite of what their ideology
has always peddled, and elites who, in private, spew out the worst insanities, one realizes that the multicultural varnish
is really extraordinarily thin."

"The results of our own actions would surpass the most malicious intentions of those now preparing
economic sanctions against Russia."

“Angela Merkel has addressed
Congress and been awarded the
Presidential Medal of Freedom
on her U.S. visits. This time,
however, her visit to America
is overshadowed by crises, with
an ally that has become a stranger.”

"Americans understandably chafe at the ingratitude of a world that freeloads on the economic, diplomatic and military might of the
U.S. Americans themselves, however, also enjoy the exorbitant privilege of operating in a system that,
broadly, suits them well."

“If any execution violated
the U.S. Constitution's ban of 'cruel and unusualpunishment,' it wasthat of Clayton Lockett.”

"The longer Italy's courts consider
the Meredith Kercher case  and we have now had three trials, six presiding judges, two hearings before the Italian high court and a third on the way  the more the country's institutions of justice have covered themselves in shame."

“Let us rejoice that NATO has not only caught a second wind, but it has literally recovered
a reason to exist. Yesterday's landing of Americans from the highly-respected 173rd Airborne Brigade is a sign of the new defensive order in Europe. It was not us who forced that order into being,
but we will benefit from it.”